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The gentrification of Brick Lane, famed for its aroma of curry and exquisite vintage clothing, is ever more notable by the day. The direction is irreversible. When yet another new proposal for the regeneration of the Truman Brewery sparks outrage among local residents and communities, what have we overlooked? In the inevitable wave of gentrification in the immigrant settlements of ethnic minorities in the city, people always tend to focus on a nation’s rise and fall as a whole, ignoring the different gendered narratives. In partiucular, the narrative of women, especially marginalised minority-ethnic Bengali women, whose history has been selectively ignored. Curry restaurants and vintage shops, the cultural signs of Brick Lane, have been occupied by Bengali men and white middle-class women, respectively. Bengali women have been ruthlessly expelled from these spaces were originally theirs. What kind of inspiration will the gentrified temporary market bring to the community? Through studying the local community and businesses, this project aims to improve the position of women in Brick Lane, while maintaining the area's cultural characteristics, namely the curry and vintage industry.
Minority-ethnic women have always been in the background, losing the opportunity to interact with urban spaces. Can can they now come to the front of stage?
As women look out of their windows, who occupies the streets of Brick Lane?
This diagram shows the wave of immigrants and their final direction of Brick Lane, as well as their relationships with each other.
In Brick Lane, how have things changed from past to the present? What is more expensive and what is cheaper? What is more popular with women and what is not?
Bengali women's experiences in curry houses and vintage shops: Although they are very different places, Bengali women are equally excluded from these spaces. Can say that their spaces are gone forever?