REBRANDING LONDON

TEST 1: Commenting on 2 documents

Guideline - STRATFORD & THE 2012 OLYMPICS: before and after regeneration

Stage 1: Introduction - Presenting the documents
Similarities: Both documents deal with the regeneration (def) of Stratford for the 2012 Olympics, taking place in a London inner city neighbourhood, so on a local scale in the capital city of the UK, a developed country.
Differences: The first doc is a photograph by Peter Marshall published in 2004 in the book entitled The Lea, London's Second River and showing a street in Stratford. The 2nd doc is an extract from a report entitled Inspired by 2012: The legacy from the Olympic Games by the Office of the Mayor of London published in the summer of 2014 about the achievements of the regeneration.
Announce structure: In a 1st part I'll use the photo to describe the situation in Stratford before the regeneration and in a 2nd part I will analyse the impact of the regeneration thanks to the report.

Stage 2: Analysing the documents

DESCRIBING - What you see (docs)
 INTERPRETING - What you know (notions)
1. Before regeneration: a deprived neighbourhood (photo)

Foreground:
Environmental problem:
empty dirty street with waste & graffiti
Background:
Economic problem:
empty factory maybe closed
Social problem:
high-rise ugly probably council housing

- Environmental dereliction:
brownfield urban site (def)
- Eco poverty:
low income, standard of living (def) as no job or low wages caused by decline of manufacturing economy
- Social exclusion:
low qualityl of life (def)

2. After the regeneration: a new neighbourhood thanks to the 2012 Olympic Games (report)
Economic success:
many tourists, new skilled media & digital jobs
Social achievement:
new homes & residents, schools & students, health center
Environmental improvement:
green park and public spaces

- Apparently sustainable regeneration:
new service economy (cluster def), social services (amenities def), green city (def)
=> Consequences
More attractive area: tourists, residents & investors => not the original population: gentrification (def)

Stage 3: Concluding
Assess docs (reliable/biased justified) To conclude, both documents are reliable as we have their full references ; they are both biased as the photographer selected a depressing view and the report only mentions successes, however, as one is positive and the other negative, they are globally balanced.
Sum-up ideas These documents show how a deprived neighbourhood like Stratford really needed a sustainable regeneration which appaarently succeeded but they forget to mention that it will only benefit high-income groups. + Open From London to New York city another global city ; from regeneration to re-imaging ; gap gentrified vs deprived neighbourhoods = a more polarised city.