Let’s Talk: Grenfell Tower
The 14 th June (Sunday just gone) marked the three year anniversary of the fire at Grenfell Tower in London, where at least 72 people lost their lives. The tragedy at Grenfell represents the effects of structural violence that is rooted in inequalities that favour the rich at the expense of the poor. Image source Grenfell is located in one of the poorest parts of the borough of Kensington, which is right next to Chelsea – one of the richest councils in England. This means that the relative deprivation here is very high. People living in and around Grenfell had a lack of resources to sustain daily life, whilst right next door, Chelsea was just concerned with making Kensington less of an eye-sore. In 2013, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea had plans to refurbish the area around Grenfell – this included new cladding for Grenfell Tower to make it more aesthetically pleasing. The organisation in charge of Grenfell was the Kensington and Chelsea Tenants Management Organisation
