13
SOCIAL FORMATIONS
“Now, the Valleys, Wales, is being neglected by the same system that boasted it’s development, leaving behind one of the most deprived landscapes in the UK” Our project is located in the Valleys of South Wales, where draining Coal in the past gave rise to an extractive system that for decades fueled Britain. Now, it is being neglected by the same system, leaving behind one of the most deprived landscapes in the UK. Cardiff and the Valleys became mutually dependent during the coal era, where extraction occurred in the upper Valleys and the port city was the node that spread the Valleys mineral resources along the UK and Europe. This happened through the intricate network from the collieries to Cardiff, where like in the veins of a living body, tonnes of coal were drained by millions of workers in exchange for “prosperity” and “development”.
THE OPEN VEINS OF THE SOUTH WALES VALLEYS FIG 6