This walk was commissioned by the Centre for Research Collections at the University of Edinburgh following their acquisition of SoPC material and documentation displayed at the Edinburgh Collage of Art Graduate Showcase 2022. The walk starts at the top of Leith Walk and finishes close to the foot of the walk. Along the route we visited two sites that have either an ongoing or recent history of community activism in relation to (resisting) the development of Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA). First we visited Eyre Place where an abandoned plot of land marked where a building merchants once stood. The plot had recently been acquired by developers CA Student living and in response to this local residents had begun organising to block the developers plans for PBSA. We then meandered east towards the Red Sandstone Building at the foot of Leith Walk. This building had been saved from demolition (and replacement with PBSA) by the controversial Save Leith Walk campaign group in 2019 so we went to investigate what is happening to it now.
The below photos where taken at the first activation of this walk for Resistance in Residence.
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PBSA (Purpose Built Student Accommodation) A SoPC x CRC Walk. ‘Resistance in Residence’ at Travelling Gallery 2023.
Photography by Cultural Heritage Digitisation Service, University of Edinburgh.