When analyzing cities and abandoned locations “we must ask: to what extent is creative destruction also destructive creation” (Ross, 2016, p. 36). In the article Appropriating the Past: Urban Exploration and Loft Living in Deindustrialized Detroit Ross summarizes that creative destruction is “industrial revolution, but a series of revolutions brought about by a constantly shifting economic structure that “incessantly destroy[s] the old one, [and] incessantly create[s] a new one” through a process”. (Ross, 2016, p.36). Modern ruins around a city is an example of this; however, they also give a glimpse into what was left behind and forgotten.
There are properties that once stood around the city. Employing, sheltering, and feeding residents of London. As they stand abandoned and rotting over time though the city demolishes them one by one. A prime example of this is the West 5 Community development being built near Commissioners and Oxford St W. This piece of land used to be farmland and located near an old burial site on the west side of the city. Now however, Sifton Properties is developing a “net zero energy office building and ~90 townhouses. . . [to] be completed in 2017. The project is expected to take 10 to 15 years to complete” (Sifton Properties, n.d.). Sifton says “feel the vibe” to viewers watching their online advertisement video. Their advertisement showcases their overall vision for the new energy-saving neighbourhood and what should be expected there in the future. Although the focus on this new community is for a more visionary, sustainable lifestyle definition there is irony behind the plot of land chosen.
The focus of this new development conveys creative destruction. As Sifton Properties destroys the old economic structure and creates a new one, is this creative structure? Or is also in a sense destructive creation?
(Sifton Properties, 2016)
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