Leeds is a city of contradictions. It juxtaposes modernity with a rich industrial history, the rich with the poor, and the natives with the immigrants. These contradictions can be seen in the different architectural styles around city, in the distribution of different groups of people within the city, and in the different purposes various buildings serve.
There was a great diversity in the types of places I observed in Leeds, to the extent that areas like Hyde Park and areas like the city center felt like they were two completely different cities. The buildings in Hyde Park were mostly made of red bricks, even if they were new buildings, which made the area seem more like an older, but sturdy and functional town. In the city center, more buildings …show more content…
In Hyde Park, we saw several “back to backs,” which were small houses constructed right next to each other, separated only by a wall. We also observed clothing lines outside these houses, because the poor residents had nowhere else to hang their clothing out to dry. Historically, these back to back houses were overcrowded, and had community toilets outside the house, which were used by the whole community. By contrast, the houses near the city center, inhabited by more affluent residents, were more spacious, and the glass and paint gave them a more polished look compared to the red bricks of the Hyde Park houses. These individuals from different income brackets also tended to shop in different places, which was evident in how different shopping places displayed their goods. In Primark, a store that served lower income groups, the price of various items was clearly written in large font, and items like socks were sold in bulk at low prices. By contrast, in Harvey Nichols, a store that, judging by the very high prices of its goods, caters to only high income individuals, the price tags of items were hidden inside the folds of the clothes, suggesting that it wasn’t a big concern for the store’s …show more content…
We found significantly more South Asian individuals in Hyde Park, where these communities had initially settled (Mishra et al, 2001), than in the city center, where most people were white. The city center also featured virtually no stores that catered specifically to the needs of an immigrant group, while shops in Hyde Park sold halal meat. The different races also shopped in different places. In Primark, roughly a fifth of the shoppers were non-white, whereas in Harvey Nichols, the only non-white individuals were two light skinned and well dressed South Asian men. Certain professions are also separated by race. Dr. Carrington was unable to call a cab around 7:30 PM because the largely Muslim and South Asian cab driver population was celebrating Iftar. According to Ben Carrington, there exists a topography of race, which makes one expect people from a certain race in only certain locations, and if individuals deviate from this expectation, they are made to feel like outsiders, and are sometimes treated violently (Carrington, 2009). David Oluwale lived in a Leeds where there were only 152 Black individuals, and his presence was hence an anomaly (Phillips 59). This could have created some of the social conditions that led to Oluwale’s
There was a great diversity in the types of places I observed in Leeds, to the extent that areas like Hyde Park and areas like the city center felt like they were two completely different cities. The buildings in Hyde Park were mostly made of red bricks, even if they were new buildings, which made the area seem more like an older, but sturdy and functional town. In the city center, more buildings …show more content…
In Hyde Park, we saw several “back to backs,” which were small houses constructed right next to each other, separated only by a wall. We also observed clothing lines outside these houses, because the poor residents had nowhere else to hang their clothing out to dry. Historically, these back to back houses were overcrowded, and had community toilets outside the house, which were used by the whole community. By contrast, the houses near the city center, inhabited by more affluent residents, were more spacious, and the glass and paint gave them a more polished look compared to the red bricks of the Hyde Park houses. These individuals from different income brackets also tended to shop in different places, which was evident in how different shopping places displayed their goods. In Primark, a store that served lower income groups, the price of various items was clearly written in large font, and items like socks were sold in bulk at low prices. By contrast, in Harvey Nichols, a store that, judging by the very high prices of its goods, caters to only high income individuals, the price tags of items were hidden inside the folds of the clothes, suggesting that it wasn’t a big concern for the store’s …show more content…
We found significantly more South Asian individuals in Hyde Park, where these communities had initially settled (Mishra et al, 2001), than in the city center, where most people were white. The city center also featured virtually no stores that catered specifically to the needs of an immigrant group, while shops in Hyde Park sold halal meat. The different races also shopped in different places. In Primark, roughly a fifth of the shoppers were non-white, whereas in Harvey Nichols, the only non-white individuals were two light skinned and well dressed South Asian men. Certain professions are also separated by race. Dr. Carrington was unable to call a cab around 7:30 PM because the largely Muslim and South Asian cab driver population was celebrating Iftar. According to Ben Carrington, there exists a topography of race, which makes one expect people from a certain race in only certain locations, and if individuals deviate from this expectation, they are made to feel like outsiders, and are sometimes treated violently (Carrington, 2009). David Oluwale lived in a Leeds where there were only 152 Black individuals, and his presence was hence an anomaly (Phillips 59). This could have created some of the social conditions that led to Oluwale’s