Urban regeneration in east London has failed to stem inequality and residents feel more insecure than ever about their livelihoods, according to a new report.
Researchers at University College London looked at living standards across five east London Boroughs – Hackney, Waltham Forest, Barking and Dagenham, Newham and Tower Hamlets - where there have been significant physical, economic and social changes in the last few decades.
All of these areas include “established” low-income communities which have been sites of “rapid socio-economic change”, including economic transformation, repopulation and demographic change.
The study found that long-term residents of the study’s disadvantaged neighbourhoods failed to see many “spillover” prosperity benefits from urban regeneration efforts because of persistent structural inequalities including gender, ethnicity and age.
Women and people from ethnic minorities reported lower incomes on average in nearly all the studied areas, while men were more likely to report feeling more secure about income and work.
Lack of access to basic services such as public transport and affordable childcare have also contributed to a widespread sense of insecurity in many areas, the report found.
Neighbourhoods studied by researchers include the Royal Docks in Newham, the Teviot Estate and Coventry Cross Estates in Tower Hamlets, Heath in Barking and Dagenham, and the areas around Olympic Park.
Lord Coe, who headed the successful London 2012 Olympic bid, had previously vowed that "the most enduring legacy of the Olympics will be the regeneration of an entire community for the direct benefit of everyone who lives there".
The study found:
-Gascoyne Estate in Hackney featured some of the highest rates of childhood poverty in the study, as well as the lowest senses of community and life satisfaction
-Leyton in Waltham Forest showed the highest rates of food and energy insecurity and by far the highest rate of loneliness, with 67 per cent of residents reporting they feel lonely most of the time, compared to Teviot Estate West in Tower Hamlets which reported the second highest level at 11 per cent
-More than a third (37 per cent) of Chobham Manor residents anticipate having to move out of their local area because of housing costs
-Accessibility of public services, childcare and digital access were major concerns for residents in Tower Hamlets
Newer neighbourhoods that have been the target of regeneration efforts were found to be more prosperous, but researchers said these areas were “importing” prosperity from other parts of the city as wealthier residents move in.
The report also found that housing costs are the biggest economic challenge across income levels, with even higher earners reporting concerns.
For the study, researchers tracked the overall prosperity of 4,000 households in 15 specific areas in five boroughs.
The study’s lead author, Dr Saffron Woodcraft, of the UCL Institute for Global Prosperity, said: “Our findings show that livelihood security is the foundation of prosperity and depends on more than income and employment. Livelihood insecurity is becoming entrenched in east London and people from all demographics and income brackets are struggling.
“There has been economic uplift as a result of physical regeneration in east London. But the communities that are most in need are not seeing the benefits.
“Our hope is that this research can help us better understand the links between livelihood insecurity, loneliness and anxiety, or the factors that are keeping people in part-time work, to help to lay the groundwork for any future policies or urban regeneration.”
