in a lot of places public transport is used to segregate communities, ensuring that stations do not open in “undesirable” areas. london has had this vulnerability too, but even as far back as the 19th century there were liberals who believed that excluding working people from a public service was morally wrong.

i see echoes of that in what the london underground is today. the latest station to open is the improbably named ‘Battersea Power Station station’ which is a part of the huge new venture capital funded redevelopment of the former power station. obviously on some level the phrase “venture capital funded redevelopment” makes me feel physically sick but in spite of that, it’s a nice new public space. and it’s a nice new public space that, whether the developers like it or not, is just minutes away from the front doors of millions of working class londoners thanks to the tube ❤️🚇