Resisting retail gentrification in traditional public markets in London

This paper uncovers the mobilisation and resistance of citizens in the UK against retail gentrification. It focuses on existing and past campaigns that have emerged to save, promote and sustain traditional retail markets in particular in London. By traditional markets we refer to covered and uncovered licensed markets which sell all kinds of produce and services. In this paper we look at traditional retail markets not merely as spaces for consumption but as spaces for socialising, identity building and also for contestation and resistance. The aims of the paper are: 1. To explain how and why traditional markets are under threat 2. To critically analyse processes of gentrification in traditional retail markets 3. To discuss existing campaigns and resistance practices against the gentrification of traditional retail markets in London. The paper is based on research conducted thanks to a scholar-activist award by the Antipode Foundation in 2015. We used a mixed methodology of desk-based research to provide a picture of the state of markets in the UK and uncover existing and past market campaigns. We identified 10 past and present campaigns across the UK and in this paper we focus on 3 campaigns in London. We find that although campaigns not always use the language if gentrification as discussed by academics, the markets as mobilised as spaces for political discussion about the city and urban justice.