Uncertainty Under The Arches: Network Rail's Commercial Property Sell-Off And The Crisis Of Affordable Workspace In London

2018年9月，网络铁路公司同意以14. 5亿英镑的价格将200个铁路yarches作为单一商业投资组合出售给投资集团Telereal Trillium和黑石物业合作伙伴。此次销售是英国一系列公共资产出售中的最新一例，通过这些出售，租金从公共领域转移到了私人领域。虽然销售的细节仍在谈判中，但人们对全国数千家拱门企业的未来感到严重担忧。潜在的影响在东伦敦尤为严重，那里的小企业在应对租金上涨高达300%的情况下，重振了当地的铁路基础设施。然而，这宗销售交易也为共享一个共同房东的组织型企业提供了一个难得的机会。通过伦敦东区行业协会组织的当地企业做出了回应，制定了一份负担得起的工作场所宣言，最终推动了伦敦工作租金运动。这场运动提出了关于不同小企业之间集体组织能力的关键问题，以及将来自雇员和住宅租户流动的原则--如生活工资和生活租金--应用于商业租赁部门的可能性。该项目提出了一个由东端行业协会（EETG），新经济基金会（NEF）和昆士兰大学地理学院，以产生急需的证据，对国家铁路抛售在东伦敦的影响和集体组织和干预的可能性。这项研究将推进对社会经济价值的理论理解，特别是在租金不断从公共领域转移到私人领域的背景下，为新出现的关于负担得起的住房的政策辩论提供信息。就其对社会科学的贡献而言，该研究将推动关于社会企业家精神和公共生活之间联系的新兴辩论，汇集关于生计和多样化经济的研究计划（Monteith& Giesbert 2017; Monteith & Camfield即将出版）以及城市社会性和集体文化（Koch 2016; Koch &莱瑟姆2012; 2013）。此外，通过解决有关集体行动和组织的可能性的问题，该项目将建立在地理学院的声誉，在东伦敦进行当地问题的研究，指导国家运动的方式，如生活工资运动（遗嘱2008;遗嘱和林内克2014）。

In September 2018, Network Rail agreed to sell 200 railwayarches as a single commercial portfolio to investment groupsTelereal Trillium and Blackstone Property Partners for£1.45bn. The sale represents the latest in a long line ofpublic asset sell-offs in the UK through which rents areshifted from the public to the private realm. While the detailsof the sale are still being negotiated, there are graveconcerns about the future of thousands of archwayenterprises across the country. The potential impacts areparticularly acute in East London, where small businesseshave revitalised the local rail infrastructure while contendingwith rent increases of up to 300%. However, the sale alsorepresents a rare opportunity for organisation amongbusinesses sharing a common landlord. Local businessesorganised through the East End Trades Guild haveresponded by developing an Affordable WorkspaceManifesto, culminating in a campaign for London WorkingRent. This campaign raises critical questions about thecapacities for collective organisation among diverse smallbusinesses, and the possibilities for applying principlesderived from the movements of employees and residentialtenants - such as Living Wage and Living Rent - to thecommercial rental sector.This project proposes a collaboration between the East EndTrades Guild (EETG), the New Economic Foundation (NEF)and the School of Geography at QMUL in order to generatemuch-needed evidence on the impacts of the National Railsell-off in East London and the possibilities for collectiveorganisation and intervention. This research will advancetheoretical understandings of socio-economic value and,specifically, inform emerging policy debates on affordableworkspaces in the context of the ongoing transfer of rentsfrom the public to the private sphere. In terms of itscontribution to social science, the research will advanceemerging debates on the connections between socialentrepreneurship and public life, bringing together researchprogrammes on livelihoods and diverse economies (Monteith& Giesbert 2017; Monteith & Camfield forthcoming) andurban sociality and collective culture (Koch 2016; Koch &Latham 2012; 2013). Furthermore, by addressing questionsabout the possibilities for collective action and organisation,the project will build upon the School of Geography'sreputation for conducting research on local issues in EastLondon in ways that direct national campaigns, such as theLiving Wage campaign (Wills 2008; Wills and Linneker 2014).