How Are Differences Made and Remade on a Street That You Know

617 Words3 Pages
Clapham High Street is a vibrant and diverse street with a long history. It became a main thoroughfare when the Romans built a diversion from the main which ran from London to Chichester (claphamhighstreet.co.uk). Clapham High Street is under a mile long and has many shops, bars, restaurants and takeaways. In this essay I will be focusing on how differences are made and remade over time and space, the contrast between the uses of Clapham High Street at day and in the night. I will be also looking at the gentrification of the street and how this can bring about social inequalities. While comparing them to what I have learned about City Road. Clapham High Street is a very busy high street in the Borough of Lambeth. In some ways it is like City Road. During the day, people use the high street to do their shopping, have lunch at one of the many restaurants or use the health spas and gyms. At night Clapham High Street comes alive with bars and clubs attracting a younger crowd of people, so like City Road it is ‘very different in the day and at night; different people use it for different activities’ (Blakeley et al, 2009, p20). As with City Road there are many people that feel that it is unsafe to go up the High Street at night, some people will see young people as a threat. It is also very noisy at night which affects the local residents. The High Street also houses a large gay community and because of this there have been incidents of hate crime. It is also main commuter route into the city with many transport links. The High Street is always a busy space. Busy with traffic always moving through the street, people are always coming and going. There is a fight for space between vehicles and pedestrians as there are only two crossings, but there is also a fight for space between pedestrians, the pavements are small and people will generally be in a hurry to go to a
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