ABSTRACT

Returning to south London, Charlotte Bates’ chapter ‘Desire Lines: Walking in Woolwich’, walks us through the redevelopment of a small urban square. Pausing at critical points in the history of the square’s redevelopment, the chapter discusses the ways in which walking – and desire – inform and reform practices of urban design, mobility, and dwelling. Weaving together observations and insights from site walks and interviews with the lead landscape architect, interviews with the access consultant and access panel group, interviews with local residents, ethnographic observations of social life in the square, and documentary analysis, this chapter shows how the practice of walking underlies the ways in which place is desired, imagined, made, and lived.