ABSTRACT

Whether people like or loathe the development in Docklands, they cannot fail to notice it. The dreams and schemes that received such a sceptical reception at the outset suddenly became a visible reality as a “Wall Street” on water rapidly emerged (see Figure 4.1). Even opponents of the London Docklands Development Corporation admired the pace and enormity of change that occurred: “Let’s be honest”, one critic said, “what they’ve done has been spectacular” (in Foster 1992:170). “The landscape changes by weeks not by months or years”, a property agent said, “It has been such a radical change over such a short period of time… you just can’t fail to get excited by it.” “Suddenly everybody wanted to be down there. It became totally attractive.”