The recent history of London, like that of Britain’s other smartened-up cities, is full of such uprootings. The cleansing of the Lea Valley follows that of Covent Garden in the 70s and 80s, Docklands in the 80s and 90s, King’s Cross between the 90s and now. Steadily, the ragged holes in the city’s fabric are being stitched up. It is hard to deny that some benefits - economic, architectural, for consumers - have come with this. But Dettmers, who arrived in London from Germany in 1981, is increasingly alarmed: “Cities need to have holes in them,” she says. “Places where they can breathe - valves where the unexpected can be let out.”

Via cityofsound.