SB

Here is a piece of urban grit from residential Shepards Bush - I took this photo after Sia. The strange building houses Endomol, famous for giving us Big Brother. The neighborhood otherwise borders West Kensington and Holland Park and Notting Hill and has been the next natural hot-spot as London's city-centre pushes ever outward. On the other side to the north is White City, a huge concrete housing estate constructed for the 1908 Olympics to house the athletes; today it is truly frightening and a no-go zone - many of London's notorious street gangs here then and now. Remarkably given the financial meltdown, SB to open The Westfield, which is to be Europe's largest high-end shopping mall. Oh boy. The retail investment meant to turn around the borderline neighborhood and attract the rich and idle - London has few shopping centres and the wealthy enjoy New Bond Street in Mayfair. To accommodate the more adventurous Gucci and Hermes loving Knightsbridge tourists, the SB underground station received a £400 million up-grade which opened last month (can you imagine this crowd on the underground?). Despite the flash metal and fancy glass public transpo, the Westfield Group which owns The Westfield is going to take this one on the chin.