Urban Lab Walk: Kings Cross — Beyond Regeneration
During the Spring of 2022 UCL Urban Lab curated a series of walks across East London, as a means of exploring London once more following the Covid-19 ‘lockdowns’ which had enforced the cancellation of so many in-person events, and linked to its annual theme Emergency. Running between UCL’s Bloomsbury Campus, and the soon-to-be-opened UCL East, the series started at the historic and constantly changing landscape of King’s Cross, led by author Tom Bolton. In this blog post, UCL Masters student Chloe McFarlane documents where the walk led us, and what insights she took from it.
On Saturday 26th February 2022, UCL Urban Laboratory held the first event of its 2022 walking tour series, King’s Cross — Beyond Regeneration, led by researcher and author of London’s Lost Rivers, Dr Tom Bolton. The aim of the walk was to explore the margins of the King’s Cross development and the many heterogenous communities which lie on the edge of this dynamic, large-scale urban regeneration project, uniquely fragmented by numerous rail lines.
Stop #01: London King’s Cross Railway Station
The walking tour started by The Birdcage artistic installation, right outside the entrance to King’s Cross Railway Station on Pancras Road. Tom started with a bit of history. In the past, King’s Cross Central was renowned as an industrial coal depot, however post-war decline led to the area becoming better known for extensive dereliction, and high levels of drug-taking, prostitution, and homelessness. In the early 2000s, the negative image of the area attracted substantial developer interest and investment, with government support, transforming the location into the ‘triumphant’ site it is today. As seen in the images below, clear boundaries marked by bollards and heavy surveillance sharply differentiate the new development from surrounding residential communities.
Stop #02: Somers Town Neighbourhood
We took a quick diversion through the frantic St Pancras International Station adjacent to King’s Cross and walked past the architecturally chic Francis Crick Institute building. Continuing in a north-westerly direction, we soon stumbled across Brill Place, a green space at the entrance to Somers Town neighbourhood — the first of many communities peripheral to Kings Cross redevelopment. Looking around the outskirts of the empty park (surprising for a Saturday), low-rise social housing dominated the area. Looking beyond its silhouette, you can see new buildings slowly ingress from East and South into the neglected space. Somers Town exemplifies that contrary to the logic of multiplier effects, some areas do not carry the same social, cultural, and economic trajectories as pioneering developments in the area.
Stop #03: St Pancras Old Church
Exiting the park, and walking down Purchase Street, we soon arrived at St Pancras Old Churchyard — a fascinating space. Tom stated that this ancient graveyard used to be the focus of the area, with the shift drastically changing after the upending mixed-use revitalisation of Kings Cross. Today, the area carries an aura of abandonment, with the melancholy mortuary facilities such as St Pancras Coroner’s Court not necessarily warranting the same levels of interest from visitors as the flashy, instagram-worthy art of Granary Square. With the arrival of Eurostar and High-Speed Railway, new physical railway infrastructure has heightened the invisibility of the space.
Stop #04 : Camley Street
Stepping out of St Pancras Old Churchyard, we headed onto Camley Street. Looking to the left, you can see railway infrastructure chaotically snaking out of King’s Cross terminus, not really helping with orientation. To the right, the tranquil environmental oasis of the Regent’s Canal however offers a much simpler means of navigation through the space. Here, Tom interestingly mentioned that Camley Street was entirely industrial 10 years ago. With many glamorous new-builds lining the street, more and more developers are preserving some ground floor uses that hark back to its authentic history.
As we continued north into the ‘true’ depths of Camley Street, there was a notable transition in how carefully the area was being managed. Nearing the High Speed Railway depot, graffiti and random artistic sketches became prominent. Miscellaneous objects from planks of wood and metal poles to loose soil from traffic calming planters and waste clothing lie strewn across the pavement. You get the odd jogger and cyclist every few minutes, but aside from that the streets on a sunny Saturday afternoon were surprisingly quiet for such a central location in the capital. Successfully showing stark contrasts with the render-like quality of many of the new-builds, Tom had soon taken us east through an uninviting pedestrian overpass (see image above) onto Maiden Lane Estate.
Stop #05: Maiden Lane Estate
One London Overground train going towards Stratford. Five minutes later, another rushing in the opposite direction towards Richmond. Tom spoke about the myriad urban regeneration projects planned around the Maiden Lane neighbourhood, including the recently-announced ‘Camden Highline’. Using a dilapidated part of railway viaduct this project aims to connect Camden High Street via an attractive elevated walkway to booming King’s Cross Central. Maiden Lane Estate is certainly distinct — the area is characterised by low-rise social housing, a spacious ground plan and facilities such as sports courts and playgrounds scarcely occupied by local youth. Again, surprising for a sunny Saturday afternoon.
Stop #06: York Way
Exiting the Maiden Lane Estate, we stepped onto York Way starting to orientate southeast back towards the King’s Cross redevelopment. Here, regeneration seems to be continuous, highlighting how the state of incompleteness is an inherent feature of the city. Property investors are kept on their toes, speculating about other dilapidated places of potential near King’s Cross Central. Tom pointed to the disused York Road Station, which closed in 1932 due to low passenger numbers and mis-planning. Substantial residential intensification may spur its reopening.
Stop #07 : Granary Square
Nearing the end of the walking tour, we re-entered the King’s Cross development via a covered market, where the gritty brick walls reverberate with King’s Cross rich industrial heritage and intense aromatic smells waft from the nearby stalls. We emerged out of the warehouse onto Granary Square. Vivid intricate cultural sculptures strongly demarcate the presence of Central Saint Martin’s (a world famous art and design college). Granary Square is lauded as the centrepiece of the regeneration project, being busy, lively, and full of impromptu as well as heavily curated uses. Tom emphasised that private investment has greatly aided the rejuvenation of King’s Cross, despite the many risks posed by the financial crash of 2007/08.
The King’s Cross redevelopment undeniably has aided a radical improvement in perceptions of the area, but at what cost? Displacement of communities to peripheral areas like Somers Town and Maiden Lane Estate, soon potentially warranting their own demolition and regeneration? The walking tour illustrated that King’s Cross needs to integrate better with its peripheral communities and, if it does, could potentially be recognised as a pioneering project transcending the socio-spatial conditions reinforced by its complex physical infrastructure.
Chloe McFarlane is an MRes Interdisciplinary Urban Design student at the UCL Bartlett Planning School, with a background in community consultation in London.
