Features of multiculturalism in London - Essay Example

Running Head: FEATURES OF MULTICULTURALISM IN LONDON Features of multiculturalism in London of the of the Table of Contents Features of multiculturalism in London The City: Modernity and the Metropolis London was built on the north bank of the Thames, the site of the modern City. The river, roughly in its present position by the time of the Roman conquest, was probably tidal at London, although tides may not have reached as far as Westminster. At high tide the river may have been as much as 1 km across and most of the south bank would have been submerged, although there were important islands of dry land at Westminster and Southwark. At low tide the channel would have shrunk to about 275 m, still considerably wider than the river of today which is about 200 m across. On its north side the Thames had cut against a pair of low hills, and it was here that the town was built. The western hill, Ludgate Hill, is now occupied by St Paul's Cathedral whilst that to the east (hereinafter referred to as Cornhill) is presently surmounted by Leadenhall market. These hills were separated by the valley of the Walbrook, the upper parts of which remained marshland until reclaimed in the Roman period. To the west of Ludgate Hill was the Fleet River, and on both hills there were springs which fed small streams. Despite intense search no trace has been found of any immediately pre-Roman occupation in the City, although several sites have produced remains of earlier prehistoric activity, especially in the area of Bishop's gate. The skeleton of a young man found at the Tower of London might have been buried in the late Iron Age but this is far from certain (Parnell 1985, 5-7). The distribution of certain pre-Roman coin types seems to indicate that some form of centre had been established in the lower Thames valley, west of London, in the early first century BC. There is no evidence, however, that this hypothetical site had continued beyond c. 60 BC and it is of little evident relevance to the later history of the area. We can be reasonably certain that there were no major settlements in or around London at the time of the conquest. The modern London still reflects the old side of London which shows which makes the seasoned visitors interested in a different perspective on the city, here's a guide to tile high life in London -- just In time for cheap fall fares and tempting holiday getaways. (Taylor, 1999, 45) Many great cities have high points providing fabulous views: Paris has the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur; Rio de Janeiro, Sugarloaf Mountain; New York City, the Empire State Building and World Trade Center. Recently, London added an aerial view to its many charms -- British Airways London Eye began taking passengers high over the River Thames in March. (Pile 1999, 4-9) In the early 1960s, the height of the buildings in London was restricted to almost 100 feet (30 metres), even though there were some exceptions to this rule. This reason for this restriction was to keep every floor of a building accessible to the fire brigade's ladders. During the 1960s, the lifting of the height limit caused a boom in the building of tall buildings. Of these, most conspicuous was the Post Office (now BT) Tower, built as a microwave relay station. The NatWest Tower, one of London's tallest monuments, was completed in 1980 and is 183m tall. Then, in 1991, it was followed by 1 Canada Square which was 235m tall and formed the centrepiece of the Canary Wharf development. After a gap of around 10 years, many new skyscrapers were built - 8 Canada Square, 25 Canada Square, the Heron Quays buildings and the award-winning 30 St Mary Axe.Two other of London's tallest buildings, left is Tower 42 (183 metres, 600 feet, once called the NatWest Tower) and right is the Swiss Re Tower (180 metres, 590 feet). London might see more skyscrapers appearing in the next few years, as part of the London's high-rise boom. The 306m Shard London Bridge, the 288m Bishopsgate Tower and fifteen other skyscrapers over 150m are either planned or approved and would altogether change the city's skyline. The 443-foot giant wheel -- with huge gondolas instead of individual seats -- dominates the skyline along the South Bank near Westminster Bridge, across the Thames from the houses of Parliament and Big Ben. The new attraction is so popular that it is expected to draw 2.2 million visitors in 10 months; it already has been voted London's No. 1 tourist attraction on the Website of the London Tourist Board and Convention Bureau, toppling the Tower of London into second place. (Simmel 1950, 409-24) The London Eye is not the tallest structure in the city -- it's fourth, behind Canary Wharf (near Greenwich), the Nat West Tower and the London Telecom Tower. At the apex of the ride, however, passengers are 120 feet above Big Ben, and they can see 25 miles in every direction, with views of everything from Buckingham Palace to the Millennium Dome. (Hainsworth, 2000, 43-45) Each of the 32 gondolas is large and spacious, comfortably holding 25 people or more (a ride cost $10 for adults, $6 for children). With a circumference of 1,392 feet, the wheel completes a revolution in 30 minutes -- it moves about 10 inches per second, so slow that it does not appear to be turning at all. Even the most squeamish about heights shouldn't have a problem -- there are wooden benches in the middle of the gondola for those wishing to stay away from the glass walls. (Simmel 1950, 409-24) London offers other panoramic views, of course. The 273-foot bell tower atop Westminster Cathedral, London's neo-Byzantine Roman Catholic cathedral (not to be confused with Anglican Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral), offers magnificent views of London's best known buildings. An old elevator takes visitors up the tower, but it's not always dependable, and there are no stairs. Admission is free, but tossing some money into the donations bin would be a gracious gesture for future elevator repairs. (Castles, Miller, 2003, 1-9) Then there's the Oxo Tower on the South Bank. The main attraction inside the building is a Harvey Nichols restaurant on the eighth floor which, like the observation area, offers extraordinary views of St. Paul's dome and Parliament. An after-dinner stroll on the wide pedestrian walks beside the River Thames offers down-to-earth views of the city, with the added excitement of the bustle of vehicular London. (Benjamin, 1986, 24) Along the South Bank, one can walk east beneath Blackfriars Bridge past the Bank-side Power Station, the new Tate Gallery of Modern Art and the reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Continue beneath Southwark Bridge for a view of London Bridge and then Tower Bridge. Another good route: Head west from Oxo, passing Gabriel's Wharf, the Television Centre and the Royal National Theatre. (Modood, Werbner, 1997, 67) As one passes under Waterloo Bridge, look for Big Ben and Parliament ahead, but don't miss the sights to the left: Queen Elizabeth Hall, the impressive Royal Festival Hall and eventually the London Aquarium near the London Eye. (Mumford, 1961, 26) The 360-degree view from the top is impressive, but it comes with a catch: There is no elevator, forcing visitors to climb 311 corkscrew steps to the caged observation deck. Window slats along the climb provide resting spots. Still, this giant 320-year-old structure, designed by Christopher Wren, may be the best bargain in all of London. (Cochrane, 1999, 23) St. Paul's Cathedral, also designed by Wren, provides what is probably the best overall experience for up-close and distant panoramic sightseeing. Its basement gift shop and restaurant could become an all-day affair -- even before one start the trip heavenward. The cathedral has three observation areas. (Back, 1996, 8-9) The first stop is a mere 259 giant steps to the Whispering Gallery inside the base of the dome. The gallery presents a precarious walk on worn and slippery marble, but the view of the cathedral and the awareness of its acoustics (hence the name of the gallery) are excellent. (Solomos, 2003, 2-8) Climb another 119 stairs to the Stone Gallery, the first outside observation area about two-thirds of the way up. The narrow one-way staircase gets more confining as one proceed -- tall people will find the going difficult. But visitors eventually are rewarded with a sweeping view of London, and a wide walking area that allows hundreds of visitors to enjoy the grand vistas of the city as they stroll around the dome. (Hall, 1996, 34) The view of the Thames is especially nice, as well as that of London's financial district, with its constant construction. The top observation area is nice, but very cramped, and the final climb is unnerving. The last 152 steps to the Golden Gallery are on iron staircases with large open spaces -- white-knuckle time for those afraid of heights. The climb is dim and musty and is made worse by the cavernous echoes. (Castells, 2000, 18-32) The Golden Gallery itself is but a 12-foot circle too narrow for two persons to pass comfortably, and the views are only slightly better than those from the Stone Gallery. The advantage in elevation is not compensated by the limited space. (Sennett , 1990, 43) Postmodernism and the City: London and Mumbai Many cities, after modernism like Mumbai need to upgrade essential civic services: roads, sewers, transport, health, security. But, as one planner said "the nicer we make the city, the more the number of people that will come to live there." (Castles, Davidson, 2000, 2-5) Most migrants to Mumbai now come from the impoverished northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Mumbai's problems cannot be solved until Bihar's problems are. And that means that agriculture has to become viable again for the small farmer. (Murji, Solomos, 2005, 23) Abolishing trade-distorting subsidies in the U.S. and the EU would go a long way toward making, say, Indian cotton competitive with American cotton. Mumbai is at the mercy of national and international factors beyond its control. (Sennett , 1994, 23) We all-wherever we live-have a stake in helping the people of mega cities like Mumbai. The UN recently published a report that forecasts that 60% of the world's population will be living in cities by 2030. Two billion people will be living in slums. The report warns of a "race to the bottom," as companies move capital and jobs across borders to cities with the lowest labour costs. The desperation of slum dwellers in cities like Mumbai therefore directly affects the economic fortunes of people in New York or Los Angeles. (Gilroy, 1987, 43-45) The UN report also warns that those slums could be breeding grounds for extremism if cultural differences between older and newer migrants aren't managed well. It's as important for London to understand Mumbai as it is for Mumbai to understand London, if for no other reason as that the next generation of Londoners is being born in Mumbai. Like it or not, it is the city of the future. (Hesse, 2000, 14) France and other European countries need to move closer to a national identity based on ideas and values. And they need to take active measures--like affirmative action--to integrate their new minorities. Without affirmative action (in schools, colleges, business, the armed forces), America would not have the sizable black middle class that it does today, which is the most effective balm to the problem of race relations. (Young, Willmott, 1996, 207-216) Responding to a question by Beard as to whether further exchange consolidation was likely, Williamson said he saw more ahead, adding that Europe's derivatives exchanges are already consolidated and this is having a knock-on effect on traditional stock exchanges. (Parekh, 2000, 39) Two factors will drive exchange consolidation, Williamson said. First, the cost of technology is rising and it will become increasingly difficult for individual stock exchanges to fund the development of future electronic trading systems themselves. Secondly, the introduction of single-stock futures is creating an alternative method for investors to access individual equities. If the exchanges with the underlying stock don't move faster, then they will be left behind. Exchanges are vulnerable beasts. The market moves quickly and some exchanges may not be able to keep up. The takeover battle for Liffe won by Euro next also figured prominently in the committee's discussions last week. Furse denied suggestions from committee members that her exchange mishandled its bid for hometown neighbour Liffe. (Jacobs, 1961, 23) Liffe was an auction party where the weakest bidder won. That's quite unusual. Furse justified the higher bid the LSE submitted on the basis of the LSE identifying 30 million ($43 million) to 35 million ($49 million) in cost savings that could be achieved, compared to just 10 million ($14 million) to 15 million ($21 million) that Euro-next would reap from Liffe. (Solomos, 1998, 45-62) The Global City - London As a key engine of the world economy, London generated $365 billion in 2004 (17% of the UK's Gross Domestic Product). The economic effect of the whole London metropolitan area is far higher, accounting for approximately 30 per cent of the UK's GDP [10] or $642 billion (estimate) in 2004. Had it been a country, the London metropolitan area would be the 13th biggest economy in the world - higher than the GDP of Australia. London is also a big financial exporter, making it a large contributor to the UK's balance of payments. The largest financial centre in London, the City of London hosts banks, brokers, insurers and legal and accounting firms. A second financial district is developing at Canary Wharf to the east of central London. Smaller than City of London, it has equally impressive occupants, including the global headquarters of HSBC, Reuters, Barclays and the world's largest firm, Clifford Chance. Central London is home to non-financial business headquarters. Largely located further west, in and around Mayfair, St. James's, the Strand, some business headquarters are also in City of London. Over half of the UK's top 100 listed companies' headquarters are in central London, and more than 70% in London's metropolitan area. London is a major global centre for professional services, media and creative industries. 31% of global currency transactions occur in London, with more US Dollars traded in London than New York, and more Euros traded there than every city in Europe combined. Tourism is one of the UK's largest industries, and in 2003 employed the equivalent of 350,000 full-time workers in London .While the Port of London is now only the third-largest in the United Kingdom - rather than largest in the world, as it once was - it still handles 50 million tonnes of cargo each year. The main docks are now at Tilbury, which is outside the boundary of Greater London. A hub of myriad works of literature, London has also introduced two writers who are probably most closely associated with the city. They are: the diarist Samuel Pepys, well-known among other things for his eyewitness account of the Great Fire, and Charles Dickens, whose depiction of a hazy, snowy, filthy London of street sweepers and pickpockets is a chief influence on people's idea of early Victorian London. James Boswell's 'Life of Samuel Johnson' is the most noteworthy biography in English. Most of it takes place in London. The famous aphorism of Samuel Johnson, "When a man is tired of London, he is fed up of life!" features alongside many other sayings and quips. Other prominent works that mark London include A Journal of the Plague Year and Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe, The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad, the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot, The Apes of God by Wyndham Lewis, Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell, Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby and White Teeth by Zadie Smith. Among modern writers perhaps the most pervasively influenced by the city is Peter Ackroyd in works such as London: The Biography, the Lambs of London and Hawksmoor. The pasts of London could also be accessed through the study of city names. Not just the individual designations of streets and districts, but also those of pubs and landmarks. (Unlike other European cities, which experienced frequent name changes through invasion, revolution, or coup, London's names have remained relatively unaltered.) Sally, for instance, told me that she could plot the course of the River Fleet simply by looking out for the clues in street names. Thus, Turnmill Street marked the site on the river where water-mills once stood, and names such as Old Seacoal Lane or Stonecutter Street assured her that she was on the right track. The name of the district Holborn, through which Farringdon Road ran, could be taken apart to reveal another reference to the hidden river ('hol' means ditch or valley and 'born' means burn or river). It was this evidence, she told me, which allowed her to summon the Fleet, 'to see it, to walk it, to feel it'. As opposed to other European cities, London's antiquity was hardly ever open to view. On guided tours, customers often expressed displeasure at the city skyline. But this non-visibility was exactly what excited the fervour of the people I knew. People were stupefied by the city's veiled biography, by what had happened to it over the years - sackings, floods, fires, plagues, and bombings - and by what they perceived lay behind or beneath the contemporary facade. They reported visions not just of buried rivers, but of lost palaces, citadels, and monasteries, of plague-pits, jousting-fields, now- cleared slum quarters, places of execution, and places of popular entertainment such as bear-baiting or cock-fighting. The objects that provided the clues or entry-points to these pasts were small and discrete. They usually lacked the collection of signs found and consumed around monumental tourist sights. Clearly, the men and women I knew were generally disbelieving of popular attractions such as Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, St Paul's Cathedral, or the Tower of London, what they disparagingly termed the 'big stuff'. For while their gaze, like that of visitors to monumental sights, was directed upon objects, this act of looking was not the end-point of their experience. As opposed to the gaze of tourists the visions they sought could not be objectified by a look or captured as an image on camera and mechanically reproduced. Instead of segregating the observer from objects in order to gaze upon them, the attention to detail was meant to draw observer and objects into propinquity. This look, like an act of caressing was treated as the first step in soliciting a relationship to the city; that eventually London could only be grasped through the imagination. References Pile S (1999) 'What is a City' Massey D, Allen, J. and Pile, S (eds) City Worlds, London: Routledge. Pp. 4-9 Simmel, G (first published in 1903) The Metropolis and Mental Life (extract) from R. Bocock et al (1992) Social and Cultural Forms of Modernity (op.cit.). Also reprinted in Kurt Wolff (ed.) (1950) The Sociology of Georg Simmel, pp. 409-24. Available online at http://condor.depaul.edu/dweinste/intro/simmel_M&ML.htm and at http://www.uwgb.edu/urs/Ray_Hutchison_web_pages/Metropolis%20&%20Mental%20Life.htm Simmel G 'The Metropolis and Mental Life' the full essay as in P Kasinitz (ed.) (1995) Metropolis Macmillan: London. Pp. 2-3 Benjamin W 'Paris, Capital of the Nineteenth Century' in P. Kasinitz (ed.) (1995) Metropolis, Macmillan: London. pp. 5-9 Also available in Walter Benjamin, Reflections (1978; 1986) pp 24 Mumford L (1961) The City in History Secker and Warburg: London. p. 26 Sennett R (1990) The Conscience of the Eye, Faber and Faber: London. pp 43 Sennett R (1994) Flesh and Stone, Faber and Faber: London. pp. 23 Savage M and Warde A (1993) Urban Sociology, Capitalism and Modernity, Macmillan: Basingstoke (Chapters 1, 2 and 5). Pp. 36 Savage M, Warde A and Ward K Urban Sociology, Capitalism and Modernity, (second edition). Macmillan/Palgrave, BSA Series, 2002. pp. 3 Smith M P (1980) The City and Social Theory. Le Corbusier (orig. published in 1925) 'A Contemporary City of Three Million Inhabitants' as extracted in Legates, R. and Stout, F. eds (1996) The City Reader, New York and London: Routledge (pp 367-375) Also available at http://www.socialfiction.org/corbusier.html Young M and Willmott P. extracts from Family and Kinship in East London orig. published in 1957; extracted in Legates R and Stout F (eds) (1996) The City Reader, New York and London: Routledge (pp 207-216). Le Corbusier (orig. published in 1925) 'A Contemporary City of Three Million Inhabitants' as extracted in Legates, R. and Stout, F. eds (1996) The City Reader, New York and London: Routledge (pp 367-375) Young M and Willmott P. extracts from Family and Kinship in East London orig. published in 1957; extracted in Legates R and Stout F (eds) (1996) The City Reader, New York and London: Routledge (pp 207-216). Jacobs J (1961) The Death and Life of Great American Cities New York: Random House. pp. 23 Sennett R (1970) The Uses of Disorder: Personal Identity and City Life London: Allen Lane. Pp. 67 Soja E (1995) 'Postmodern Urbanization: The Six Restructurings of Los Angeles' in S Watson and K Gibson (eds) Postmodern Cities and Spaces, London: Routledge, pp. 125-137. Taylor N (1999) Urban Planning Theory Since 1945 London: Sage (Chs. 1 to 3 especially) pp. 45 Cochrane A (1999) 'Administered Cities' Chapter 7 of S. Pile et. Al. (eds.) Unruly Cities, London: Routledge. Pp. 23 Hall P (1996) Cities of Tomorrow Oxford: Blackwell (especially ch.28, 'The City of Capitalism Rampant: London, 1979-1993') pp. 34 Castells M (1989) The Informational City, ch.4; or Castells, M (1996/2000) The Rise of the Network Society, ch.6; or Castells, M (1994) 'European Cities, the Informational Society, and the Global Economy', New Left Review, (204) March-April: 18-32 Back L and Solomos J (eds) Theories of Race and Racism Routledge. 2000 . Fryer P Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain Pluto Press 1984, Chapters 9 and 10. pp. 34-45 Gilroy P There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack Hutchinson 1987, Chapters 1 and 5. pp. 43-45 Murji K and Solomos J (eds) Racialisation: Studies in Theory and Practice Oxford University Press 2005. pp. 23 Solomos J Race and Racism in Britain 3rd Edition, 2003, Chapter 3. pp. 2-8 Castles S and Miller M J The Age of Migration (3rd Edition) Macmillan 2003. pp. 1-9 Hainsworth P (ed.) The Politics of the Extreme Right Pinter 2000. pp. 43-45 Modood T and Werbner P (eds) The Politics of Multiculturalism in the New Europe, Zed Press 1997. pp. 67 Back L New Ethnicities and Urban Culture: racisms and multi-culture in young lives UCL Press 1996, Chapters 1 and 8. pp. 8-9 Castles S and Davidson A Citizenship and Migration: Globalization and the Politics of Belonging Macmillan. 2000. pp. 2-5 Hesse B (ed.) Un/Settled Multiculturalisms: Diasporas, Entanglements, 'Transruptions' Zed Books. 2000. pp. 14 Joppke C and Lukes S (eds) Multicultural Questions Oxford University Press 1999. pp. 2-3 Parekh B Rethinking Multiculturalism: cultural diversity and political theory Macmillan 2000, Chapters 7-9. pp. 39 Solomos J 'Beyond racism and multiculturalism' Patterns of Prejudice 32, 4, 1998: 45-62 Read More