Monday 5 December 2011

The value of the local community

City doesn't mean individualistic loneliness. 
Tourists, commercial high streets and shopping centers  are always the same and make every place the same. But the ordinary people that live in a city want to feel at home and not under a Christmas's tree. 

London suffers from this kind of depersonalization.  
How do you describe London? 
Three word are enough: multicultural, busy, overwhelming. 

People come from all over the world to work, to study, to visit.

The city is the business work heart of UK. 

London is full of everything. To many people on the tube, in the hight streets, in the shops.
To many things to do everyday. People miss the time. 
A lots of clubs, restaurants, any kind of entertainment, hobby, workshop, any job. Here you can find everything you looking for. 

What's about the typical londoner? 

Is a person or just and individual? He seems to be it. But not at all.

If you go out the zone 1, the city centre, you will discover that your view changes. 

Life is built on local communities. 

People know each other very well, are use to go in the same place, meeting during the same events and meeting. 
There is the local church, the primary school, the child centre, the supermarkets, the most popular coffee shops and restaurants and the nearest  shopping centre. 
It is like an independent town with local services. Also there is the newspaper that runs the local news.

Hampstead is a good example, but I can say also Swiss Cottage, Camden, Harrow and many others. 

Amy is a mother with two children that live in Finchley Road. She says: "I never go to the city centre, if I don't have to go. It's always crowded of people and this annoys  me. I can't stand it anymore." She adds: "Here I have all I need. The school for the children, the swimming pool, Waitrose. Also O2 centre is so big that you can get everything there. I 'm use to go with my children there on Sundays for watching a movie".

Living in London is not too different that living in a small town. The only thing is that with tube you can be in the caos of the city centre in a short time. 

The vital life of the local community shows that London need identity, not made by the foreign globalization. 
The City is the people that live in and they need to feel person, with relationships, social activities and common projects. 

Each single local community is the heart of London. 

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