Misha King

In October 2013, London homeowners were earning more while they slept than the rest of us did by working. The average house price rocketed by the cost of a Subway sandwich every minute. The property boat had well and truly sailed and if you weren't already aboard  you’d be renting for life

There were still cheap homes out there. Historically, in a crisis London  looked beyond its boundaries. The depopulation of rural towns and declining industrial cities meant they could offer beautiful properties at £35,000 a pop. But lacking the cultural and economic advantages of the capital, few wanted to make that leap.

The twinning of Hackney to Toxteth (Liverpool) was the first step towards a new form of community  – one borough, one governance, two locations. In 2021, a new settlement was developed in Liverpool alongside the railway tracks, a physical link to Hackney; the new enterprise zone offered zero tax to Hackney businesses, prompting a rush to set up sister branches.

The predicted mass emigration drew calls to reconcile the boroughs’ collective identities. The Doppel-Borough was born: a layer of shared digital infrastructure. Not just a collaborative business platform but a social landscape of familiar landmarks and shared cultural references. New culture for a new community.