Art, Swings and Industry - King's Cross Magical History Tour

Cursed Objects

"Escape to the King's Cross Riviera," said the sign on the construction hoardings - so we did! And it forced us to ask questions like: 'What if you threw a major urban regeneration zone and lots of people came, but then they wanted a branch of All Bar One when they got there?'

In this brand new episode, Kasia and Dan are on an Outside Broadcast Adventure (OBA), captured live during the heart of the London summer in King's Cross, one of the capital's Regeneration Ground Zeroes, a bouji office and leisure district that has been transformed into shiny glass and steel towers in the last 20 years.

Kasia takes Dan on a public art walking tour, and they navigate the glitzy commercial areas, swish landscaped gardens and astroturf seating that have replaced the brick buildings stained with soot, heavy industry and brownfield sites - although clubs like The Egg are hanging on from its edgier era: the rogue nightclub you go to when all the others are shut.

We discuss Google's new side-scraper 'campus', how the knowledge economy and the creative industries became New Labour's engine of urban change, and how you bring joy and a settled identity to areas usually defined by transience, like major railway stations. Also, why are small children so interested in large infrastructure projects?

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