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Housing Policy and Building Types: From High Hopes to High-Rise

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London on Film

Part of the book series: Screening Spaces ((SCSP))

Abstract

This chapter discusses a range of domestic settings in London films, from Mike Leigh’s 1988 High Hopes to Ben Wheatley’s 2015 High-Rise, covering streets, suburbia, statement homes and tower blocks. It draws a distinction between the gentrification of areas by collective social action and gentrification by capital, marking the significance of ‘Right to Buy’ schemes in the promotion of owner occupation and a corresponding diminution of the stock of social housing in the capital. It comments on the use of housing and housing policy as tools of social engineering, and on housing as an indicator of social mobility. The films discussed contribute to a wider current debate concerning the availability and affordability of housing.

The original version of this chapter was revised. The erratum to this chapter is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64979-5_18

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, New York, USA

    Amy Sargeant

Authors
  1. Amy Sargeant
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Correspondence to Amy Sargeant .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

    Pam Hirsch

  2. University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United Kingdom

    Chris O'Rourke

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Sargeant, A. (2017). Housing Policy and Building Types: From High Hopes to High-Rise . In: Hirsch, P., O'Rourke, C. (eds) London on Film. Screening Spaces. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64979-5_10

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