An archetype of east London, Bethnal Green is equal parts retail, industrial, and residential, its streets are now a mix of new and old. One can still catch a glimpse of the area’s Victorian past, though, in its red brick warehouses and the occasional Victorian terrace. The heart of the neighbourhood is Bethnal Green Road, the main thoroughfare and shopping street, lined with countless independent and chain stores, local cafes, and community pubs. The town centre of Shoreditch is only a short walk west, and Bethnal Green tube station operates on the Central line, taking commuters through central London and beyond to the west. The historic Brick Lane forms the neighbourhood’s western border, drawing throngs of tourists to its antique shops, record stores, and celebrated Indian restaurants. With its vibrant, diverse community, Bethnal Green is attempting to stand strong in the face of east London’s rapid gentrification.

Brick Lane is one of the area’s most fascinating streets. Formerly known as Whitechapel Lane, the road wound through fields long before Bethnal Green emerged as a neighbourhood. It was the local brick earth deposits and subsequent brick manufacturing sites that gave the road its contemporary name. Breweries emerged on the road in the late 1600s due to the ease with which deep wells could be dug in the area. The most notable of which was Truman’s Black Eagle Brewery which is now shrouded in controversy due to unpopular redevelopment plans.

Brick Lane market emerged around the same time as the brewery’s, along with French Huguenots, famed for their weaving skills, who sought employment in nearby Spitalfields. The 19th century saw an influx of Irish and Jewish immigrants and, while not quite as bad as more central and western Bethnal Green, the area became a slum. One of the neighbourhood’s most beloved establishments: Beigel Bake is an excellent 24 hour Jewish bagel shop which dates back to this period. The Covid-19 pandemic saw it close its doors for the first time since the Second World War. After the war when slum clearances were underway, a large Bangladeshi population moved into the neighbourhood, and still define Bethnal Green & Brick Lane today.

Bethnal Green was once home to the worst slum in the whole of London. A cockney enclave known as the Old Nichol - the Victorian slum housed over 6,000 people in just 30 streets, and was described as filled with “vice, filth, and poverty.” It was the inspiration for Arthur Morrison’s famous novel A Child of the Jago, published in 1896.

The speedy gentrification of Bethnal Green has meant that many of the neighbourhood’s houses and rents are becoming unaffordable for those who have lived here for generations. This break up of communities has correlated with an increase in crime, most likely the result of widening inequality and high levels of homelessness.

London’s housing crisis is at its peak in Tower Hamlets, with over 19,000 applicants on the waiting list for council housing and only 1,800 tenancies able to be granted per year. Rising house prices also means that even those earning a decent salary are being priced out.As mentioned, developers and residents have recently been at odds over plans to redevelop Brick Lane’s Truman Brewery - currently home to around 300 small businesses. Despite the council approving the developers proposal in 2021, new mayor, Lutfur Rahman has taken the side of residents, arguing that a new solution must be found for the site. Nearby, work is underway on an ultramodern luxury development called The Stage, which brings the skyscrapers of the city ever closer to the traditionally lower rise communities of the East End. Both projects can be seen as an example of the council’s struggle to attract developers willing to sacrifice profits in favour of affordable homes.