"Continuous Cruisers": An exploration of mobility and communality in London's boat-dwelling community

Since the 1960's, London's waterways have shifted from trade route, to place of residency (LAEC, 2013). Since 2012, this new residential population has grown threefold (NBTA, 2016; RBOA), imparting a new significance to London's blue space. Bowles (2015) and Scovazzi (2016) provide insightful studies focused primarily on life on the water. The significance of the relationship of the boater with the city, and with it, the concept of the water as an 'untapped' city space remains unexplored in any detail. Bowles (2015) finds boaters to be largely independent of each other, with interactions irregular and fleeting during the 14-day stopping periods (174). A subsequent CRT report (CRT, 2016), finds 57% of London's boaters do not live alone, and small groups travel in flotillas (CRT, 2016). Therefore, communality embedded within, and contrasting against the wider boating community forms key research interest.