ABSTRACT
In the words of the former Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, “the high street is the heartbeat of London’s business community. It epitomises the distinct culture and character of our city to visitors from across the world.” The most important question in relation to London’s high streets is are they really ‘dying’ at all, in a social sense? On a historical timeline spanning back to the economic depressions of the late 20th century, it has been argued that the core social functions that high streets perform have resiliently adapted to changing circumstances. The most in-depth urban realm studies on the high street therefore resist an emphasis on an ideal model and derive their conclusions about future sustainability on a loose-fit model, which embraces the difference and peculiarity of places. Francis Road is a detached stretch of mixed-use street embedded in a large residential zone.
