On the front cover of this module handbook is a montage of photographs of Stratford in East London, the former location of the London Olympic Games 2012. The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, as it is now known, is located very near to Queen Mary University of London and in a town where people live, work, attend school and college, worship, shop and conduct their daily lives. Improving the local economy of a very poor part of London was one of the major reasons why the Olympic Park was constructed in Stratford, to generate employment, more housing and enable young people living there to have more access to sport and leisure facilities; the idea was to raise a poorer neighbourhood socially and economically. Human Geography is concerned about this kind of aspiration for neighbourhoods, its research being focused particularly on issues of inequality. The fact that the former London Olympic Park is situated in one of the most multicultural parts of London is also of significance to Human Geographers, not just with regard to their livelihoods but also their cultures. Human Geography is the study of people, places and plans.
In this second semester, in relation to London as a city, we apply some of the geographies we learned in the first semester and we explore other geographies that will enable us to understand London’s global connections as well as our experiencing of London. There are four field studies: in Week 3, a walk in Brick Lane, where we explore this area’s history of migration over three hundred years and the signs of changes that suggest new urban mobilities; in Week 6, a walk in Stratford, East London, to consider there the regeneration legacy of the London Olympic Games 2012; in Week 9, a walk in the City of London where we consider the Great Recession of 2008, its impact on London’s economy, and we think further about the contribution of migrants to London especially as a hidden work force; finally, in Week 11, a walk in and around Trafalgar Square to consider further London’s imperial landscape including its monuments, architecture and artworks. Through these field studies you will learn about the London that is often invisible to the tourist eye.
