Hackney in black and white

Photos by Neil Martinson of Hackney in the 1970s and early '80s:

"Hackney was a place to leave, with its crumbling council estates and high unemployment… Yet there was vitality and resilience among local people," said Neil Martinson of his series. "Few people owned their own homes, there were no gated communities and no gastro-pubs. Students, radicals and artists started to move into Hackney. It was an exciting time to be a photographer and activist."

From Hackney Archive: Work and Life 1971-1985, out this week from Hoxton Mini Press: