People’s Pathways to Northumberland Park, Tottenham This exhibition presents a picture of the communities in the Northumberland Park area of Tottenham. During March and April 2006, we interviewed some 60 people from different backgrounds and ages about their experiences of coming to the area, how it has changed during their lifetimes and how they relate to the diverse and changing mix of ethnic groups in their neighbourhood. The exhibition is organised into six themes: First Impressions, Population Changes, Local Development, Socio-Economic Issues, Recent Arrivals and Looking Forward. North Tottenham has a long history of population change due to shifting economic and immigration patterns. Many people have also moved on when possible; as one person suggested, Tottenham has often served as just a “transit camp”. Irish and Jewish immigrants were the largest groups to supplement the predominantly White English working class before World War II. From the 1950s, a variety of immigrant groups have followed pathways to the area – Greek and Turkish Cypriot, Afro Caribbean, French-speaking and English-speaking African, Turkish, Kurdish, Albanian Kosovan and most recently Eastern European. The list could run on to virtually every part of the world. Census statistics from 2001 indicated that over 82% of people in the Northumberland Park area were from ethnic minorities and 45% were born overseas. One of the major changes that impacted on Tottenham was the decline and closure of manufacturing factories from the 1970s, which had been the mainstay of employment in the area. As the economic foundations crumbled, the social problems mounted. A common way of seeing the area has tended to be first and foremost as one blighted by problems such as crime, unemployment, low education, and poor housing and health. A litany of statistics can indeed be cited as evidence of deprivation, but it is important that this point of view does not blind observers to appreciating the reality of lives in Northumberland Park. One person commented that what has come with the population change “was a kind of poverty mentality, or criminality mentality. Not from the community itself, but from above. So there is a view, if you ask people ‘what is Tottenham’, nine times out of ten it’s a community in crisis. As opposed to something positive.” While many of the participants in this project spoke of their struggles and the barriers that they have faced, there were also many positive reflections on the diversity, sharing and solidarity within the neighbourhood. The photographer Joanne O’Brien and researcher Marc Craw from Working Lives Research Institute, London Metropolitan University carried out this project with funding from the regeneration programme Joining Up Northumberland Park in Haringey Council. The exhibition board and website provide a snapshot of the people in the area that will be used in schools, community centres, museums and other forums as a tool for encouraging greater understanding of the social history and cultural diversity in Northumberland Park. We would like to thank all of the participants, including those whose photos unfortunately could not be included in this exhibition, for sharing a part of their lives with us.