Where the First and Third Worlds Meet

[Rico Rommheim]

Fascinating thread Muppet. I've been to London only once, but I have to come back!

[Austinlee]

now that's artsy.

[muppet]

x

[Mr_kiwi_fruit]

You have a great photographic style. This image is awesome........ Thanks for sharing.

[Sydney]

Loving it, very edgy - thanks mate

[muppet]

Thanks guys, it's a shame my camera wasn't that great - mostly a very harried point and click before people noticed. Alot of stuff on the streets in that market is stolen goods, plus so many people will 'strike a pose' if they notice.

[muppet]

[muppet]

[muppet]

[muppet]

so weird, I got 'spotted' while doing this tour, among others

On the day, me in the mirror



(then this guy on left in the romper suit):




...and fast forward to the current edition of Disorder, a full 4 months later:



^Dont know if the girl's in any of the other pics...

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by Yankee

And therein lies the most fundamental difference between American and European slums - ours don't have white people. Honestly, it's so weird for an American to see an urban area that looks this gritty being literally crowded with nordic-looking white British people. I'd like to think our cities are more diverse, but in reality it's all a product of segregation and white flight.

You should come to Vancouver, Canada then, the vast majority of the homeless / poor are white and native, heavily concentrated in the downtown east side.

Also, in the United States I believe most of the poor white people live in trailer parks and other nasty homesteads in rural areas. (At least this is what I gathered in my journeys through the US)

[flar]

Great documentary!

[Bedhead]

Originally Posted by muppet

so weird, I got 'spotted' while doing this tour, among others

That is bizarre - on your fave records, is that Bright Eyes or Chas 'n' Dave?

[muppet]

Bright Eyes - the rock hallelujah version - by the Michael Bolton, obviously.

[Bedhead]

http://www2.richmond.com/galleries/2...e-to-mullet/4/
richmond.com

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by Yankee

And therein lies the most fundamental difference between American and European slums - ours don't have white people. Honestly, it's so weird for an American to see an urban area that looks this gritty being literally crowded with nordic-looking white British people. I'd like to think our cities are more diverse, but in reality it's all a product of segregation and white flight.

These aren't slums- where did you get the idea that these were slums?

Still not a speck of "third world" here. Great pics but I see nothing but trustafarians here.

[Nightsky]

Looks like a nice area, reminds of Camden (and a bit of Möllevången here in Malmö).

[muppet]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

These aren't slums- where did you get the idea that these were slums?

Still not a speck of "third world" here. Great pics but I see nothing but trustafarians here.

Guys trust me, go there and you will see alot of the 'Third World', especially in the many rundown buildings and the poor estates that surround that street (and in typical London tradition, rubbing shoulders right up with the new moneyed set that are buying them up and converting some of them). I did NOT take any pics of the many prostitutes, drug dealers or stolen goods section of the market either (and defo not 'Sex Alley', complete with condoms, human waste and missing clothing).

Look again at what these people are selling - its not all just retro, students and artists, but mixed in the 'stalls' are the desperately poor too:



and the buildings too -its no postcard





overview thanks to MinatoKu:


Neither does the 'Third World' moniker apply to just the poverty of the area, but the vibrancy, open air markets, streetfood, noise and sheer colour. That is really what I mean when I say 'Third World'.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

Great pics but I see nothing but trustafarians here.

And you know this how?

Originally Posted by Yankee

And therein lies the most fundamental difference between American and European slums - ours don't have white people. Honestly, it's so weird for an American to see an urban area that looks this gritty being literally crowded with nordic-looking white British people. I'd like to think our cities are more diverse, but in reality it's all a product of segregation and white flight.

First of all, neither this nor really any American neighourhood is a "slum".

Secondly, there are plenty of poor US urban areas with white people - in the eastern half of the country at least. And if all you want is "slummy", look no further than that "Arkansas: Redneck Wasteland" thread.

And thirdly, this looks pretty similar to places like Williamsburg, Bushwick, East Village, etc. in New York.


Anyway, great pictures and awesome-looking area of course.

[muppet]

Thanx, I think what strikes most visitors to London is how much the rich and poor mix residentially, how a crappy part of town can still house the rich and boho in tower blocks with the poor, and see its derelicts converted into yuppie flats, whilst gorgeous stucco street houses are interspersed between mansions and converted bedsit blocks, usually ending in a tower block.

An age old tradition started by the Victorians it continues today - even luxury new developments must commit 30-50% of it to 'affordable homes'.

The other similar areas to this are Hoxton, Dalston, Hackney and Bow - majority working class, cheap rent districts being colonised by an army of creatives, students and newly arrived immigrants.