Exploring the urbanisation process of London’s rural-urban fringe in Tilbury and East Tilbury.
What is periphery in the context of urbanisation?
Tilbury sits at the intersection of the estuary, agricultural land, Green Belt, industrial zones, suburban settlements, and port development, forming a global city edge that carries a complexity exacerbated by the dynamic urbanisation process. ACROSS THE ESTUARIAL PERIPHERY presents drawings developed using a unique methodological model created as part of the research behind this exhibition. The drawings combine findings from mapping (GIS and documentary research), observation, interviews, and visual analysis to explore and reflect on the character of the metropolitan fringe and to visualise the impact of London’s sprawl onto Tilbury’s legibility and identity.
Applying a storytelling approach, the exhibition reveals conflicts between local communities, environments, landscapes, and cultures in marginalised areas as a result of urban activity through four chapters, they are: 1 Peripheral Urban Landscapes, 2 Urbanised Estuarial Landscapes, 3 Fragmented Field Patterns, and 4 Unsettled Urban Identities and Legibility. These four chapters reveal the urban challenges experienced by Tilbury, resulting in the fragmentation of the surrounding landscape, the less visible multi-dimensional urbanisation of the estuary, and the loss of local identity and perception.
ACROSS THE ESTUARIAL PERIPHERY is curated by Alexis Liu and the drawings are developed from the fieldwork, interviews and ArcGIS mappings conducted during her PhD research in Tilbury and East Tilbury.