The Experience of Diversity in an Era of Urban Regeneration: The Case of Queens Market, East London

This paper explores the relationship between ethnic diversity, public space and urban regeneration by considering the redevelopment of Queens Market in the multiethnic borough of Newham, East London. In 2004 Newham Council announced plans to demolish the market and relocate it within a new shopping and residential complex. In response, local people have campaigned to halt the scheme and have called for the refurbishment of the existing structure. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Newham, the paper examines the conflict that has arisen between local people’s attachments to the market and the Council’s vision of creating a “safer and cleaner” environment aimed at attracting higher income users. Within this frame, the paper attempts to unpack the contested significance of diversity, from the everyday experience of interaction and a resource that is mobilized by campaigners, to the gentrifying trajectory that is inherent in the market redevelopment scheme and reflective of a more general process in contemporary urban regeneration in Britain.