The canals of London were once used to transport coal and other goods throughout the city and other regions. Now this transport is mainly unused and instead the canals have become places of leisure, and for some their home. Throughout the 1970 and 80s those living on the canal were often marginalised communities with many members of the LGBT community choosing to live away from the city in relative peace. Others were people that those in the towns would generally not associate with, people with untypical jobs and lives. There has always been an element of travel for those on the canal, with moorings traditionally given for two weeks before the narrowboat moves on to a new place. However, in the face of the housing crisis in London, many people now view the canals as an economically friendly place to live. There has been a huge increase in people choosing to live on narrowboats and forego easy waste disposal for cheaper rent. This has caused tensions with people that have lived on the river for their whole lives, with conflicts ensuing over lifestyles and mooring spaces. In London there are permanent moorings available for three years to the highest bidder or else the boat should move to a new mooring every two weeks. Many complain that new boaters simply move back and forth tiny increments in order to dodge the higher permanent mooring prices, causing blockages on the canal.
London’s waterways have changed and been swallowed up by the developing city, with many forced underground and used as part of the modern sewer system. One of the best examples of this is the River Fleet, Fleet Street’s namesake, which was used extensively by Romans, but when the city became more populous it was polluted and chocked. After the Great Fire of London, the river was reimagined by Christopher Wren, who gave it four grand bridges large enough for canal barges, but was underused leading to an even more polluted water-way. The surrounding area became the place of an open slum, referenced in Charles Dicken’s Oliver Twist as the site of Fagin’s den, with the butchers of Fleet street throwing old carcasses into the river. As the city developed it was bricked over between 1730 and 1870 and now runs almost entirely underground, mostly forgotten.
The canals of London were mostly built in the period of industrial revolution to transport coal across London, transporting 4 million tonnes a year at their peak. However, with the advance in rail and road transport they quickly fell into disuse, and now transport only around 15,000 tonnes a year.
In a city where most people lived on boats, space and access would be pressing issues. I would imagine that all the existing rivers would be in use with canals built to improve access between them. With increased traffic, many of the rivers and canals would be widened to allow space for boats to move past one another, with the inclusion of turning areas to avoid clogging the whole water system. Permanent moorings would be even more expensive, with those in prime areas, such as close access to utilities like fuel, water, and food very expensive. With so many boats constantly having to move along the canals, I imagine that the waterways would be similar to the metropolitan streets described in the Victorian era with overcrowding and slow progress common. There may have to be systems in place that allow certain boats to move on certain days of the week to resolve the overcrowding.
The direction of the water flow would also impact the price of moorings, with areas upriver of the city centre more expensive as the water would be less polluted. In London this would be the West and North of the city, which is similar to prices today in places like Notting Hill and Chelsea, areas which became preferred in the Industrial Revolution, when prevailing winds brought smog East. In the cheaper areas, overcrowding could cause issues for access to the river and utilities. I also imagine that since washing utility is limited aboard boats that there would exist communal baths as in Roman times, and people would make stops to these every few days. Whilst fuel stations may have to exist at points on land, I also imagine that many food shops, repair workers and wate disposal vehicles would travel along the canals on a schedule similar to recycling lorries, so residents don’t have to go out of their way so often. Surrounding the waterways, shops and therefore small houses would probably appear, to support those living on the water. Those who must stay in places for a long time due to jobs such as canal construction may also produce small communities of people settled in houses. However, many people would be able to complete their jobs and education online, so that those on the boat may be more ingrained into an online lifestyle than those on land, in a change to today where many choose to live on narrow boats to avoid the perceived trappings of a technological society lost to nature.
This imagined city does not seem to be a viable utopia, as the lack of settlement, crowding and polluting of rivers does not seem ideal. The logistics of organising jobs, education, access to essential utilities, and even meeting friends seem very complicated in a world where most people are changing location every few weeks. It would also not allow for the building of permanent communities, where people can build connections over a long period of time, unless they are rich enough to afford a more permanent mooring. For them the increased leisure time and stability would be a commodity worth paying for, allowing better social connections and more free time not constantly on the move.
References:
Atlas (n.d.). The Lost River Fleet. [online] Atlas Obscura. Available at: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/river-fleet#:~:text=The%20River%20Fleet%20was%20a [Accessed 1 Feb. 2023].
Benedictus, L. (2018). Blowing in the wind: why do so many cities have poor east ends? [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/may/12/blowing-wind-cities-poor-east-ends.
Ferguson, D. (2019). Pushing the boater out: London’s property crisis spreads to the water. The Guardian. [online] 29 Jul. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jul/29/london-property-crisis-canal-narrowboat-gentrification.
Green Party Group (2004). Deserted Highways Report. [online] friendsofregentscanal.org. Available at: http://friendsofregentscanal.org/features/reports/deserted_highways/deserted_highways_report.html [Accessed 1 Feb. 2023].
Hay, M. (2014). The Boat People of Britain. [online] Roads & Kingdoms. Available at: https://roadsandkingdoms.com/2014/the-boat-people-of-britain/ [Accessed 1 Feb. 2023].
Herlihy, O. (2022). How Many Rivers Are in London? (with map). [online] Wandle News. Available at: https://wandlenews.com/how-many-rivers-are-in-london/ [Accessed 1 Feb. 2023].
Towergate Insurance (n.d.). The Cost of Living on a Narrowboat | Boat Insurance | Towergate. [online] http://www.towergateinsurance.co.uk. Available at: https://www.towergateinsurance.co.uk/boat-insurance/living-in-london-cost-of-living-on-a-narrowboat-versus-in-a-flat.
Understanding Cities and Spatial Cultures 