Peripheralization and Centralization in the City

This chapter explores how centralization and peripheralization are mutually constitutive in creating urban space in South London, how the processes are driven, and how they are understood by locals. The chapter shows that criminalization, law-and-order, and policing were crucial in advancing and justifying the urban transformations at the heart of this study—the demolitions and redevelopments of two former council estates, the Heygate and Aylesbury Estates, into upmarket housing and commercial spaces. Qualitative data shows the different ways in which residents and representatives of local government, politics, and police make sense of the associated centralization and peripheralization of their neighborhoods.