Responses to the London Riots

The London Riots have left us all a bit gobsmacked. On the 6th of August in Tottenham in the North of London what started out as peaceful demonstration against a recent police shooting turned into something quite different and unexpected — an outbreak of violence and the destruction of cars and homes and local businesses. And then the looting began. Over the next two to three days copycat riots and looting broke out over London, most notably in Peckham, Clapham and Brixton and then around the country in Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham resulting in five related deaths and the worst rioting the country has seen since the 1980s.

As large parts of the city were shut down and boarded up, the rest of the world looked on in shock as footage and information streamed out via mainstream and social media. The mainstream media questioned the politicians, the police response and the rioters motivations. A YouTube video, which has received in excess of four millions hits, was uploaded of a Malaysian student, bleeding and distressed, being 'helped up' by the crowd around him only then to be mugged by his supposed 'helpers'. A Tumblr site, Photshoplooter, sprang up, providing some much needed humour in a time which is anything but funny.

In the aftermath of the riots, as the public, the politicians and the newspapers debate everything from increasing police powers to the impact the government's recent austerity measures have had on young people, the good people of London (and yes, there are quite a few of them) have got down to the business of cleaning up and rebuilding. RiotCleanup started as a twitter account in the early hours of the 9th of August and by the morning it was a website helping to organise an army of volunteers who wanted to help with the clean up. Building on its success, two recent architecture students, Lee Wilshire and Nick Varney, have set up Riotrebuild, which is dedicated to connecting people who have been affected by the riots with professional architects, builders and handyman to assist them to rebuild their homes, business and communities.