toxteth, liverpool case study

location

part of inner liverpool, 1.5km south of the city centre

natural characteristics

• undulating land rising from banks of river Mersey, stream flows from NE dividing into 2 before discharging into the river

• Mersey is fast flowing past Toxteth as channel narrows before passing into Liverpool Bay = little foreshore

past characteristics

• saxons settlement in toxteth, and domesday survey of 1086 records it as one of just a handful of coastal villages along the banks of Mersey

• 13th century - became part of large royal hunting forest

• 16th century - opened up for farming

• emerged as major port with many industries

• river bank = lined with docks, ship-building yards and associated industries e.g. rope walks

• residential development occurred hand in hand with industrial growth

• part of toxteth given over to ambitious housing scheme with wide streets and large villas, but behind villas was cheap and poorly constructed hosuing - lots of epidemics

demographic

• 10.6% elderly residents with majority aged 16-64 (75.5%)

• sig. fewer children as proportion of total pop than Lympstone

• large industrial cities e.g. Liverpool have always attracted migrants, large influx of the Irish during 19th century

socio-economic

• ave. household size 1.9 (england = 2.4)

• car availability (% with no access to a car/van):25.6

• % aged 16 ff with no formal qualifications: 22.5%

culture

• celebrate major muslim festivals like Eid and Ramadan

• Black Africans and Black Caribbean comms have distinctive forms of Christian worship - diff from traditional English styles

• cultural diversity stretches back to 19th century when Greek Orthodox church was built, evidence of synagogue - jewish

political

• part of riverside ward, one of 30 wards making up liverpool CC

• CC has powers and duties similar to county council of Lympostone e.g. education

• Toxteth is part of Liverpool Riverside parliamentary constituency with one councillor = Labour (75% majority)

built environment

• area has been adapted by migrant communities

• mosque and ethnic retailers are visual indicators of a changing place

• many buildings have changed their use and new ones have been constructed

shifting flows of resources and ideas = change local places

• containerisation and migration of docks further to N and river mouth at seaforth = unemployment = poverty = contributed to Toxteth riots in 1981 - low point in history as civil unrest

• Merseyside Development Cooperation of 80s set about trying to regenerate former dock areas - 1988 tate liverpool, 2008 liverpool was named european capital of culture, aimed to boost tertiary employment through cultural tourism