“This is my home and I am going to fight to keep it until the very end,” says gentrification activist continuing her vicennial-long protest.
A banner from the recent gentrification protest against Southwark Council. Image Credits: Sayan Bose
Once home to 7500 people, the Aylesbury estate in Elephant and Castle is now a ghost town. The demolition plan of one of the biggest housing estates in Europe has made almost all the residents move out. However, one woman is determined to stay till the very end.
When Aysen Dennis moved to the Aylesbury Estate in 1993, things were quite different. “It was more vibrant and homely,” she says while recalling her past days. After facing several racial abuses because of her Turkish ethnicity, Dennis finally realised that the multicultural estate was somewhere she belonged. She describes the entire living arrangement as “living in a big family together” where everyone knows each other