Guillery, P; (2017) South Acton Unsustained. In: Guillery, P and Kroll, D, (eds.) Mobilising housing histories: learning from London's past. RIBA Publishing: London, UK.

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Abstract

The west London district of South Acton was speculatively built up in the late 19th century with streets of humble terraced houses. Densely populated and dominated by laundries, the area incorporated a distinctive architecture that integrated domestic and industrial uses. Poor maintenance, overcrowding and perceptions typically applied to working-class areas led to a post-war comprehensive redevelopment programme. By the 1970s the Victorian buildings had been entirely replaced, providing in some measure better accommodation and new amenities in one of west London’s largest and most varied estates of council housing. But once again, this time more quickly, problems typical of public housing, not least more poor maintenance and dark perceptions, brought calls for ‘comprehensive regeneration’. In response, and at the request of and in collaboration with local residents, English Heritage and the architectural practice Fluid carried out studies in 2004–5 (‘South Acton: Housing Histories’, an ‘historic environment characterisation’, and ‘South Acton Stories: Sharing Histories, Revealing Identity’, oral-history based community engagement) that emphasised the importance of continuity in both fabric and identity – conservation, that is. Regeneration has proceeded with little regard. Ten years on, this chapter revisits the area to reflect on this attempt at the mobilisation of housing history, the recidivism of perceived unsustainability, and the difficulty of confronting discourses and economic structures (capitalism) that prioritise renewal over continuity.

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