Laura Oldfield Ford's 2015 essay 'Scorched Earth' maps London's contested East End landscapes

Laura Oldfield Ford's essay 'Scorched Earth,' published in October 2015, documents a psychogeographic journey through London's East End. The text traverses zones from Canary Wharf to Poplar, mapping boundaries between financial districts and working-class estates. Ford describes landmarks like Robin Hood Gardens, Balfron Tower, and the Aberfeldy estate, noting their isolation amid new developments like Elektron Tower and Neutron Tower. She observes data centers housing financial systems at Selco and Global Switch. The narrative captures community resistance to gentrification, with residents opposing resettlement plans by Poplar Harca and the Tory government. Local gathering points include the Festival Tavern on Chrisp Street and the sealed Aberfeldy Tavern, where residents organize cafés and legal centers. Ford references historical layers from slum clearances to contemporary alliances among Angolan, Somali, Pakistani, English, Irish, and Bengali communities. The essay blends personal memory with urban analysis, noting details like a full-moon eclipse in April and an unexpected September heatwave.