Common Ground: A History Of Camden’s Public Spaces

Camden Town largely exists out in the open. As a tourist hotspot, it exists as something in public view. Over 250,00 people traverse its streets every week, each having their claim to the space. Despite this, there are barriers to who and how we access Camden. Public space is experienced communally and is also key to community building. However, in a growing city, these spaces can be few and far between. Using news archives, photography, and first-hand sources, this project looks at some of the history of public space in Camden, looking at key disputes around its access; from the industrialisation of the 1920s to the busking disputes of the 2010s.