the dislocation of culture

7/28/2019 The Dislocation of Culture

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Cover design by author.


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Author


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The

Dislocation

of culture

A COMPARATIVE

ANALYSIS OF LONDONS

ETHNIC ENCLAVES

RYAN BLACKFORD


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RYAN BLACKFORD

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#10363276

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ARCO215 - Contextual Essay

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Adam Cowley-Evans

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Question from Richard Bower (Adapted)

All images used are work of the

author unless stated otherwise.


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CONTENT

Abstract

Introduction

Part I : Analysis

Chinatown or the Urban Theme Park

Brick Lane or the Londoners Canvas

Part II : Comparison

The Duck and the Shed

The [in]formal Monument

Practice and Environment

Cultural Consumption

Conclusions

Appendix

Bibliography

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ABSTRACT

This essay is a study of two of Londons most prolific

cultural hotspots, Chinatown and Brick Lane. The

study intends to provide comparisons between these

two very different places and determine the mechan-

ics that have shaped what they are today and where

they are headed in the future, particularly in regards

to contested territory between majority and minority.

Cultural sustainability and the role of the Architect or

City Planner within these mechanics and processesare questioned and analysed in the hope of preserv-

ing the rich tapestry of diversity and multicultural-

ism that London has to offer for both majority and

minority.


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Introduction

London is a city of many Others, a city of convolution and com-plication that reflects both experientially and demographically. It

is a city that cannot be understood through map or diagram. With

around 55% of its population being considered part of an ethnic mi-

nority, London can be considered as one of the most ethnically di-

verse places in the world, one of the few places where majority is in

fact minority.(1) As a result of such diversity, we see the production

of a certain type of spatial phenomena, the ethnic enclave, a place

within a place - a representation of a community and its territories.

This essay intends to address these values of minority or Oth-

er-ness in the context of a dominant social structure framework,

the ethnic enclave within the dominant host city. Brick Lane and

Chinatown are interesting case studies in this respect as they both

illustrate the contact between majority and minority values, al-

though in very different ways and to different consequences. They

act as flagships of their respective territories - in this case theboroughs of Westminster and Tower Hamlets (fig. A) - symbols of a

particular minority that manifest values of each community. I hope

to explore and interrogate and compare the spatio-cultural prac-

tices that occur within these places in an attempt to understand

both how minorities appropriate or act and how the majority then

influences or reacts in turn.(2)

Cohen, Norma, White ethnic Britons in minority in London, Finan-cial Times/UK Census 2011, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4bd95562[accessed 03.04.13].From now on, by using the term Majority I am referring to thepredominant social order within that particular society, in this caseWhite British.

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What is theoretically innovative, and politically crucial, is the

need to think beyond narratives of originary and initial subjectivi-

ties and to focus on those moments or processes that are pro-

duced in the articulation of cultural differences.(3)

- Homi K. Bhabha, The Location of Culture

Bhabha, Homi K., The Location of Culture (London: Rouledge -1994), p.1.

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Fig. A - Google Maps


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PART I

analysis

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Chinatown orthe Urban Theme Park

Let us look first at Chinatown, a place produced from necessity; the

first wave of Chinese immigrants, sailors of the East India Company

and their families, settled in the area and found themselves out

of work when the shipping industry declined during the early 20th

century. British soldiers returning from the far east brought with

them an appetite for Chinese cuisine, a lifeline for the unemployed

residents of Chinatown.(4) This process fabricated Chinatown as we

know and understand it today, as a place that has never truly been

forthe Chinese but instead an attraction for others.

The result is a rather fantastical representation of Chineseness, one

skewed by capitalism and the formal values and requirements of

the dominant society. De Certeau explains the relationship between

the representation and its use in society as one of manipulation and

hierarchy;

The presence and circulation of a representation [...] tells us noth--

ulation by users who are not its makers. Only then can we gauge

the difference or similarity between the production of the image

and and the secondary production hidden in the process of its uti-

(5)

Considering this in the context of Chinatown and the concept of Ori-

entalism, the image of China and Chineseness that we receive from

Chinatown is much the subject of this manipulation from users

who are not its makers. It is an image that has been adapted to suit

the formal values of the western world and be consumed as a prod-

uct in this way; an image that makes a spectacle of itself. Edward

Said explains in Orientalism;

Ville, Tom, Through the Ages: A History of London Chinatown,Chinatown London, http://www.chinatownlondon.org/page/through-the-ages/3/4 [accessed 03.04.13]De Certeau, Michel, The Practice of Everyday Life (Berkeley :University of California - 1984), p.xiii.

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The Orient was almost a European invention, and had been since

antiquity a place of romance, exotic beings, haunting memories and

landscapes, remarkable experiences. Now it was disappearing; in a

(6)

Chinatown seeks to preserve these imported views of the Orient for

their exotic qualities in spite of them being no longer existent and

perhaps even slightly fictional. In being an untrue representation

of the community (the Other) it seeks to represent it becomes a kind

of inhabited theme park (even with its own colour scheme (Fig.B)),

bringing with it a diminished sense of place and identity.(7)

The onlyamenities that appear to be really for the Chinese community are

a plethora of casinos and betting shops that only seem to illustrate

this majority-minority manipulation even further (Fig. C).

Said, Edward, Orientalism (New York: Pantheon - 1978), p.1.When referring to sense of place in this instance I am referring tothe sense of place held by the person themselves, as opposed togeographic characteristics.

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Brick Lane orthe Londoners Canvas

Unlike the more static Chinatown, Brick Lane has a reverberant

historical context of temporality, being called home to Londons

French Huguenot, Jewish and Bengali communities (consecutively)

since the early 1800s.(8)(9) Built in 1743 and serving first as a Church,

then becoming a Synagogue, the Brick Lane Mosque reflects this

transient relationship between culture and space (Fig. D).

Although perceived as a transient area with the ability to consis-tently re-invent itself, it is still called home to a community and still

manifests cultural values to some degree.(10) The difficulty here is

that by being a place of function over spectacle - it does not express

these values outwards for benefit of the majority, unlike Chinatown.

As a result, the majoritys perception of Brick Lane is that it does

not particularly belong to the Bengali community, even though

the majority of the population are of Bangladeshi origin.(11) Obser-

vations of this perception can also be made from the toponymy of

Brick Lane itself; why is the area not collectively known as Ban-

glatown?(12)(Appendix 1).

Melvin, Jeremy, London Calling, Architectural Design, Vol.75-5(2005), pp.8-15.Oakley, K. and Pratt, A.C, Brick Lane: Community-Driven Innova-tion, Local Knowledge: Case studies of four innovative places,NESTA Kings College London, pp28-39.

Oakley + Pratt, Brick Lane: Community-Driven Innovation, p.30.Tower Hamlets Partnership, Ward Profile: Spitalfields, This-Borough, http://thisborough.towerhamlets.gov.uk/default.asp[accessed 08.04.13].The ward itself is actually called Spitalfields and Banglatown,and even referred to compassionately by the Bengali community asBanglatown. However the term is relatively unused in mainstreammedia and the general population.

Fig. D - Evolution of Brick Lane Mosque.

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Brick Lane implies nothing of any cultural territory or ownership,

rather it is a quintessentially British name that could be placed

anywhere. Despite this, Brick Lane still acts as a cultural anchorpoint for the Bengali community, one that functions well in preserv-

ing identity and maintaining cultural integrity of one of the poorest

communities in London.(13)

It is precisely in its ability to re-invent itself that Brick Lane and

the surrounding areas of Spitalfields and Whitechapel have found

themselves subject to a different social process, the emergence of

a young, creative industry based around cultural capitalism. Thistype of industry thrives off of the unspectacular, a blank canvas in

the form of a street in East London. As Andy Pratt writes, The name

(14) This spatial branding of the area

brings with it an injection of values into the existing community,

values of the majority competing with values of minority (Fig. E).

Eade, J, Identity, Nation and Religeon: Educated Young Bangla-deshi Muslims in Londons East End, International Sociology, 9(1994), p.379.Oakley + Pratt, Brick Lane: Community-Driven Innovation, p.32.

Fig. E - Majority/minority heirarchieson Brick Lane.

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As the area becomes trendy it attracts attention as a desirable

place, subsequently pushing up property prices and encouraging

redevelopment, creating a process of displacement and confusion

within the original Bengali community.(15) Pratt goes on to argue

that this fragmentation is perhaps based on class friction as well as

cultural difference:

While the diversity of Brick Lane is one of its selling points, the

picture we derived from interviews was one of fragmentation, not

necessarily along ethnic lines, although this exists, but along social

class lines. If the innovation of Brick Lane comes in part from the

mixing of communities, people and ideas, then this mixing does not

(16)

The cultural confusion in the area seems to have culminated in

recent proposals from the local council to create a so-called cul-

ture trail in the area. This 1.85m development includes two hi-

jab-shaped arches at each end of Brick Lane (fig. F) that have been

met with extensive opposition from both communities, reflectingthe contesting of territory between majority and minority and this

apparent need for one community to speak and act on behalf of a

lesser other.(17)

Thomson, Ian, On Brick Lane: Review, The Telegraph On-line, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/non_fictionre-views/3667751/From-Jewish-cockneys-to-City-slickers.html[accessed 29.04.13].Oakley + Pratt, Brick Lane: Community-Driven Innovation, p.32.Dangerfield, Andy, Brick Lane Arches Plan Criticised by Res-idents, BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lon-don/8517791.stm [accessed 20.4.13]

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Fig. F -Council proposalfor Hijab-shapedarches. Tower HamletsCouncil


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Fig. G - Brick Lane Mosque(center).


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The Duck and the Shed

On face value, we can draw comparisons of these places with Ven-

turi and Scott-Browns theory of the duck and decorated shed. The

duck substitutes structure and program for

form, much like Chinatown substitutes its principle as a place of

Chineseness for a symbolic (and spectacular) representation.(18)

On the other hand, the decorated shed submits its form to suit

a specific function or system while applying its ornamentation in-

dependently, in much the same way that Brick Lane operates as a

functional space in which the program holds preference over anykind of symbolic expressive form; Instead using graffiti as a method

of independent ornamentation (fig. H).

Both Chinatown and the duck are what they are and as a result they

are unable to be anything else; you couldnt imagine Chinatown in

its current form as anything other than Chinatown. In a decorated

shed such as Brick Lane you could simply change the signs and it

would become something else (fig. I). The Brick Lane Mosque build-ing reiterates this theory in the sense that the only change through

3 waves of immigrant communities is the sign above the door.

Venturi, R, and Scott-Brown, D, Learning From Las Vegas (Cam-bridge, MA: MIT Press - 1977), pp. 90-91.

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Fig. H -Ornamentation isapplied independ-ently in the form

of graffiti.


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Fig. I - Comparative sketches throughsections of typical buildings.

Chinatown - based on New China restaurant.

Brick Lane - based on Old Truman Brewery building.


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Of course the use of these analogies can only offer a simplistic in-

sight and point of comparison between these very complex spatial

phenomena. The analogies used are what is perceived at face val-

ue and the actual mechanics of these places no doubt throw up

complexities within. These face value observations should still have

importance as they are, after all, how the majority perceives that

particular place and the social group (minority) it represents. In

Lefebvrian terms it is the representational space of the majority; it

is the space that is directly lived through its associated images and

(19)

The [in]formal Monument

For me, these two very different places represent two ways in which

minority culture attempts to integrate into a dominant environment;

the offering of a service/spectacle and the chameleonic appropria-

tion space for ones own specific needs. I am not suggesting these

are definitive archetypes of how cultures collide but more strong

examples of the mechanics that can occur. Although subject to verydifferent processes they both boil down to conflicting senses of ter-

ritory and place between minority and majority.

From observing and analysing these places, it seems that objects

that have monumental value are key in illustrating this conflict of

formal and informal values. I will refer to these monuments from

now on as [in]formal, offering manifestations of both formal and in-

formal values simultaneously (see fig. J). The Brick Lane proposalmentioned earlier is a prime example of this, a monument con-

ceived by the majority for the minority and subsequently opposed

by minority. As Bhabha writes;

It is in the emergence of the interstices - the overlap and displace-

experiences of nationness, community interest or cultural value are

(20)

Lefebvre, Henri, The Production of Space (London: Blackwell -1991), p.39.Bhabha, Location of Culture, p.2.

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If we consider these interstitial spaces that Bhabha mentions as

[in]formal monuments then they can indeed become negotiators

of collective cultural values and community interest. From the

arches and pagodas of Chinatown to the graffiti murals in Brick

Lane, all of these monuments manifest relationships and conflict

between majority and minority in a visible, physical form. We can

once again allude to Lefebvres triad at this point; the formal monu-ment can be seen as conceived space (representations of), informal

monuments are the relics of social spaces (spatial practice) and

the perceived (representational) space is made up by how we, as

spectators, see and react to these monuments in both reality and

through the media.(21)

In order for us to truly understand how these ethnic enclaves op-

erate, and in turn act thoughtfully as architects and designers/ap-propriators of space (avoiding incidents such as the Brick Lane

Lefebvre, Production of Space, p.33.

Fig. J -Examples of[in]formalmonuments.

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Culture Trail), as Bhabha suggests, we must -

ments or processes that are produced in the articulation of cultural

differences.(22) It is these moments of difference and conflict, man-

ifested within [in]formal monuments as juxtaposition of social and

conceived space, that tell us much more about these places than

subjective and individual opinions such as those shown in the me-

dia; Contradictions voice or express the forces and the relationships

between forces that clash within a history (and within history in gen-

(23)

Practice and Environment

Lets continue with a brief summary of conclusions made so far:

To touch on the final three comparisons in the table; static and

amorphous refers to the transiency of each place (in terms of cul-

tural change and development), the event and everydayreflects how

space is used as perceived by a majority and the final comparison

suggests how environmental (and possibly historical) factors influ-

ence the spacial practices of communities within these places.

This final point is interesting as it makes a strong contrast in termsof how these communities practice everyday life in a dominant

host society. The Chinese community, by shaping their environment

Bhabha, Location of Culture, p.1.Lefebvre, Production of Space, p.153.

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to suit their own economic needs, operates cleverly within a system

that isnt particularly suited to them. As David Harvey explains in

Rebel Cities, this system is the golden chain that imprisons vul-

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(24) They may not be quite as vulnerable as

Harvey suggests however, managing to create a thriving honey pot

right in central London tailored to their own economic desires. De

Certeau explains this relationship with his theory of tactics and

trajectories, suggesting that the other can develop guerilla-style

tactics in order to adapt and subvert a dominant system; -

that are neither determined nor captured by the systems in which they

(25)

It seems then that the trade-off is between cultural integrity and

economic gain; Chinatown manages to sustain itself economically

at the price of becoming a theme park and Brick Lane retains its

cultural values in the face of majority capitalisation and resultant

displacement. This leads us to question whether there can be acompromise in this situation or whether these communities have

to leave their values at the door if they hope to survive. Either way,

both outcomes inevitably lead to a dislocation of culture.

Cultural Consumption

This relationship between environment and spatial practice also

influences the production of these monuments that I mentionedearlier. Take for example the Chinatown arches commissioned by

Westminster City Council in 1985; they stand as independent and

non-compromising features in their environment, shaping the sur-

rounding context - spatial practice shaping environment. The Brick

Lane Crane (by local street artist Roa) does the opposite, allow-

ing the context and environment to shape the monument.(26)(appendix 2)

Harvey, David, Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to theUrban Revolution (London: Verso - 2012), p.20.De Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life, p.xviiiUnknown, The Return of Street Artist Roa, Spitalfields Life, http://spitalfieldslife.com/2010/04/28/the-return-of-roa-street-artist/[accessed 08.04.13].

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Fig. K - Brick Lane Crane, by Roa.


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What is interesting here is that both monuments are perceived as

a brand (something to take photos of and post about on a blog)

but the difference between them is the social processes that con-

sume this brand. The social processes Im alluding to here are theprocesses outlined earlier that affect these places as a whole, the

cultural tourism of Chinatown and cultural capitalism of Brick Lane.

These processes operate very differently in terms of space and

time; tourism like we see in Chinatown is fairly static in terms of

space, it relies on one particular attraction that is revisited over and

over again, being in effect a place for events. The cultural capital-

ism we see in Brick Lane relies on trend, the very nature of which

suggests a short-lived experience that moves about in space (fig.

L). In terms of how it is perceived by the majority, it is the differ-

ence between a series of events and an everyday lived space.

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Fig. L - Spatial Dynamics of CulturalTourism and Cultural Capitaism

Movement between sameplace but different people.

Cultural Tourism (Chinatown)

Movement between differentplace but same people.

Cultural Capitalism (Brick Lane)


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CONCLUSIONs

The relationship between minority and majority is a reciprocal one;

one that has undoubtedly shaped London to be the place it is today.

I would argue however, that in an increasingly globalised society

this process isnt sustainable. Jan Pieterse contends that, glob-

al interconnectedness leads to increasing cultural convergence, as

(27)

What happens in this convergence is a consumption of culture it-

self, the resultant product being - as well as a new chain of exotic

restaurants - the dislocation of culture.

What this diagram explains is that culture is a finite resource, beingconsumed by processes such as those occuring in Chinatown and

Brick Lane. The values from minority and majority are interchanged

and shared in a way that favors the dominant capitalist system and

a ceaseless accumulation of capital, in short these places become

brands and lose authenticity. An approach to address the sustain-

ability of these places is important in terms of maintaining diversi-

ty as opposed to fragmentation or misrepresentation of cultures;

the equation should be balanced in terms of the exchange of valuesbetween majority and minority.

Pieterse, Jan, Globalization and Culture: Global Melange (Lanham:Rowman and Littlefield - 2009)

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M m

Majority values imposedthrough dominant systems-Architecture, Economy,Media, Language.

Minority values consu-med through PopularCulture - Art, Food,Fashion, Tourism.


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The extreme results of these processes are the next EuroDisney or

Kowloon City, a tawdry amalgam of misrepresented culture or theeradication of culture itself. In order to retain a balance between

culturalgive and take there needs to be an element of understand-

ing between cultures and a notion of shared territory rather than

contested territory; a desire to celebrate difference rather than

consume it.(28)

By analysing and picking apart the mechanics of each of these plac-

es the intention was not to answer why they are different but morehow. These places are but two examples of how cultures can be

dislocated in one way or another but Im not suggesting they are

definitive binary archetypes of which all ethnic enclaves operate.

Instead of placing these places of huge cultural complexity into a

sort of model or calculation it becomes much more valuable to be

able to read these places through their associated symbols, signs

and monuments; consequentially how to understand them and act

as architects, planners or any other discipline for that matter.

Melvin, London Calling, pp.8-12.28. 27


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APPENDIX

1. Toponymy - The naming process of these ethnic enclaves is very

interesting and can tell us a lot about how it is perceived by Majority

and Minority. Take for example, the name Little Italy as a simul-

taneous representation of each communitys values; the compas-

sionate reference to a little piece of home in a foreign environment

and the simple fact that it isnt an Italian place name. It frames the

place as a tourist attraction, a small slice of Italian Culture, avail-able a little closer to home.

2.This extract is taken from the Spitalfields Life blog talking about

the street art of Roa in East London. The authors description of the

artists work offers an interesting take on how his paintings occupy

some of the areas which he feels are dilapidated and in need of

attention; how as a result the community by and large accepts and

even condones him painting on their property due to the increase invalue that comes with it. This contradiction between the values of

the artist and the cultural capitalism that entails is a prime exam-

ple of the processes occuring in Brick Lane;

Roa always asks before painting his creatures onto walls and has dis-

covered that many owners are receptive to having large paintings en-

hancing their buildings, which can become landmarks as a result. The

truth is that since these paintings take four to eight hours to complete,

it is not an option to create them as a hit and run operation, especially

if you want them to last.

For the most part, Roa places his animals in unloved, unrecognised

corners of the cityscape that are the natural home for scavengers and

vermin. But once these spaces are inhabited, the creatures become

the familiar spirits of their locations, living embodiments of these

places, and our relationship with them parallels our feelings about

the streetscape itself. Their powerful presence no longer permits us

(26)

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Benmayor, Rina, Salinas Chinatown, Oral History Review, Vol.37-2, pp.225-234.

Bhabha, Homi K., (London: Rouledge -1994).

Cohen, Norma, , Finan-cial Times/UK Census 2011, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4bd95562[accessed 03.04.13].

Dangerfield, Andy, BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8517791.stm [accessed 20.4.13].

De Certeau, Michel, (Berkeley : Uni-

versity of California - 1984).

Eade, J, International Sociology, 9 (1994),pp.377-394.

Harvey, David, Revolution(London: Verso - 2012).

Hickey, Amber (ed.),, (Journal ofAesthetics and Protest - 2012).

Hyde, Rory, -tecture(London: Routledge - 2012).

Lefebvre, Henri, (London: Blackwell -

1991).

Massey, Doreen, For Space(London: Sage - 2005).

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Melvin, Jeremy, , Architectural Design, Vol.75-5(2005), pp.8-15.

Oakley, K. and Pratt, A.C, Local Knowledge: Case studies of four innovative places, NESTAKings College London, pp28-39.

Pieterse, Jan, (Lanham:Rowman and Littlefield - 2009).

Said, Edward, (New York: Pantheon - 1978).

Thomson, Ian, , The Telegraph Online, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/non_fictionreviews/3667751/From-Jewish-cockneys-to-City-slickers.html [accessed 29.04.13].

Tower Hamlets Partnership, , ThisBor-ough, http://thisborough.towerhamlets.gov.uk/default.asp [ac-cessed 08.04.13].

Venturi, R, and Scott-Brown, D, (Cam-bridge, MA: MIT Press - 1977).

Ville, Tom, China-town London, http://www.chinatownlondon.org/page/through-the-ages/3/4 [accessed 03.04.13].

Unknown, , Spitalfields Life, http://spitalfieldslife.com/2010/04/28/the-return-of-roa-street-artist/[accessed 08.04.13].

ALL IMAGES ARE AUTHOR (with exception of Figs. A + F whichare taken from [http://www.google.com/maps] and [http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/features/how_relieved_i_am_hi-

jab_arches_have_been_pulled_from_brick_lane_1_671181]).

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the dislocation of culture

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