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From Ilford to Basildon

Amae
2 min readJun 10, 2024
Photo by the Author
Photo by the Author

Endless roads that lead to nowhere
conformity beacons
it is like a sad song, a lament to individuality,
These houses were built in the 1930s for the blue-collar working class, which was then and still is viewed by some as a homogenous group devoid of distinct personalities; these houses were built to represent the aspirations of those wishing to climb the class hierarchy.

Ilford to nowhere, the city lights beckon in the distance,
this is a place, a void, lacking distinction and individuality, the home of the Dagenham Man and Woman, the nation’s pulse and voice in the 1980s, in the age of Thatcherism.

Mondeo man and Sierra man were the stereotypes used to describe them:
Vehicles built for the lower middle classes, those with above-average income and aspirations.
Now populated by Asians from the East, it is, alas, still devoid of a soul.
Banal streets, one after another, stretch into the distance horizon, avenues with no distinctive style — scenes of deja vu. They all look the same. The houses have the same architectural style, thus defining the place’s aesthetic. Today the streets are populated with…

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Amae
Amae

Written by Amae

Interested in people, nature, science and technology, and history. MSc in Research Methods (Birkbeck), MA Industrial Design (UAL)

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