NEWS - Ideas and concepts Part 2, formal Story Research and story hypothesis

NEWS - Ideas and concepts Part 2

in this post I will explore the changes in my news story since reconvening on Thursday, these changes have been produced in response to input from Helen, Our primary tutor for the year, and input from my team mates.

Changes

the biggest changes occur in relation to the primary focus of my story, broadening and diversifying the possible content and locations. it was made clear that London may be outside of my group's collective travel distance, thus I researched further in an attempt to find evidence and examples of gentrification in the form that London exemplifies-(The removal of lower class/income housing and subversive venues/cultural centers to be replaced by High income/super high income/high-class venues and housing.) in the wider Kent/south-east area. I found several locations in Kent where the process of gentrification is at its midpoint.

Story Core Research

The Great property race
an episode of the BBC series 'inside out' from the BBC's London region, explores the reason behind London's serious housing issues, explores difficulties of first-time buyers in London.

website regarding correct episode:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03tqzqt
viewable version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-jUY8khIoQ

seen in the show is the rate of change in housing prices in the capital, with evewn green belt land going for extremely lucrative sums of money, this trend as seen in the show could spell disaster for the south-east as its accessibility to London is high.
("The Great Property Race, Inside Out London - BBC One")

an effect of London's insane residential property bubble is the movement of anyone without a triple-digit yearly income out of London, this breaks up local cultures as communities of low-income locals, artists, and small business owners migrate into the countryside, their communities broken up and dissolved as people move to different areas of the country.

one part of the UK hit hardest by London's middle and lower class diaspora is, in fact the south-east with areas of Eastborne, Hasitngs, Folkestone, Ramsgate and Margate seeing huge increases in their housing markets and urban renewal not seen by the kent coastline since its origins in the 19th century.  ("Coasting Along: The Kent And Sussex Renaissance - Belfasttelegraph.Co.Uk")

this causes house prices to rise, nothing on the scale of the rises in London, however across the wider country incomes are far behind those of central London, if the towns and cities of the wider country are treated like greater London then where will anyone live? will the local low-income families have to move out of these picturesque towns and cities as their houses are sold to developers? will London repeat across the country? with international money pushing a virtual housing market of empty flats and estates?

in London the process appears to work in stages, a major developer buys residential property, legally pays off the local council to get out of its responsibilities to provide local, affordable housing, then sells it to international clientele.
 ("Planners’ Fury As Firm Axes Affordable Homes At Luxury Development | Camden New Journal")
("113,000 Council Homes Could Be Sold Off, Says Shelter")

as Kent becomes the "poor man's" London, will London's housing market follow? there is some evidence that this process is beginning along the Thames estuary, with areas such as Dartford and Ebbsfleet becoming targets for developers.(Spittles)

My hypothesis, based upon the trends seen in London is that the process through which residential property becomes "shares" or stakes based investments is as follows:

1. area is lower income (E,D,C2)
2. artists/countercultural people move into the area, out of university or from other areas wherein the property market has forced them out. these people are often renting from local landlords.(C1/C2)
3. area is targeted by developers
4. area is advertised as up and coming
5. Middle-class people move into the area, renting and buying from larger firms, often moving into new developments as they spring up.(C1/B)
6. it's by this point the areas is considered renewed, a local culture has sprung up, there is a sense of community, the artists are still there and the lower income people still live on the periphery.
7. by this point the area is shifting from affordable (for mid to upper-middle-class professionals, B/A ) to " to investable property.
8.  the property developers then start to advertise to international investors, developments are less new housing estates and more like the areas within the new Olympic village. modern, new build apartment complexes, privately owned, sold internationally. its at this point that any expression of the local culture has been dissolved, the original low-income residents are all gone, the middle class is suffering due to a lack of wage inflation to match monetary inflation, this causes remortgaging and the selling of the now lucrative property back to the developers. the artists have been moved out as their landlords have also sold to the developers.
9. empty buildings, owned offshore, lack of income from the now missing populace causes local businesses to suffer or close down, cultural loss is complete.

the chain above is a hypothesis, one that started in the central boroughs of London and moved to the old industrial areas, then to the old slum Burroughs, the council estates, and now anywhere inside the M25. now with the high speed link into London, kent is looking more and more appealing to the big city developers, with time, kent may go through the same as London is now.

"113,000 Council Homes Could Be Sold Off, Says Shelter". This is Money. N.p., 2015. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
   .
"Coasting Along: The Kent And Sussex Renaissance - Belfasttelegraph.Co.Uk". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. N.p., 2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

Perry, John. "John Perry: The Council Housing Sell-Off Disaster". LRB blog. N.p., 2016. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

"Planners’ Fury As Firm Axes Affordable Homes At Luxury Development | Camden New Journal". Camdennewjournal.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

Spittles, David. "Leafy Retreats: Revitalised Suburbs Are Getting Their Mojo Back". Homes and Property. N.p., 2016. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

"The Great Property Race, Inside Out London - BBC One". BBC. N.p., 2014. Television. 26 Sept. 2016.


useful links: https://noisey.vice.com/en_uk/article/londons-culture-death-what-the-citys-best-music-venues-look-like-now?utm_source=vicefbuk