Still Here

OFF THE PRESS

THIS AND THAT

EFFECTS OF GENTRIFICATION

May 2026 Issue 1

still here.

MANCHESTER'S CIVIC PRIDE

Your insider guide to the city’s most community-rich corners.

Local independent places to check out

Gentrification and its impact on civic pride

This and That

what does this mean for the community?

Off the press and The Feel Good Club

Introduction meet the team

contents.

Meet the team: Ruby Hall Editor

Isabelle Acton Creative director

Cleo Collyer

Proof reader and secretary

What does civic pride mean to Still Here Magazine?

BY RUBY HALL

Civic pride is the collective sense of identity, affection and responsibility that people feel toward their own town or city. It is more than just liking where you live: it is a shared emotional investment. A feeling that you belong to a place and that place in some way belongs to you also. ““If you ever arrive in Manchester - if you are lucky enough to be able to afford the train fare - you come down the steps at Piccadilly. And if you’re lucky enough to afford a taxi, you get in the back of one and the driver says, ‘Where are you going, love?’ Oh, and I feel at home.

Where grown men call strangers ‘love’. I think if we all did that, it would be a rather better place, would it not?””

- SIR IAN MCKELLEN

In a time of rapid societal development, shaped by AI, technology, social media, and the lasting impact of the pandemic, there has been a massive disconnect between humans. Real connection can feel harder to access, as the world f ills itself with easy distractions and digital noise. Yet, as that disconnect grows, so does our need to belong. When we feel we don’t belong anywhere, we can often feel lost or unwanted.

Civic pride responds to that feeling. It offers rootedness. It creates pockets of community where identity and connection can grow. It has taken me a while to f ind spaces where I truly feel a sense of belonging, but Manchester is def initely not short of vibrant pockets of community where you can f ind a sense of self.

'Still here' is a magazine that will cover these pockets of community that we have found a sense of belonging living in the city ourselves, and act almost as a guidebook to the citys best spots that truly demonstrate the civic pride that is felt.

OFF THE PRESS

o

ne of the examples of these pockets of community that I have found is a cafe named Off the Press, located just off the corner of Ancoats. It provides a neighbourhood spot that feels different from elsewhere.

For remote work or catch-ups with friends, this cafe offers a place where people can take loneliness off like a heavy coat, and feel something slightly different. Small conversations about your day, snippets of what people’s lives are like, a space where conversation isn’t expected but invited. This is what generates true human connection. It’s the little check-ins, the reminders that we are all experiencing the earth at the same time.

What’s fascinating is how clearly spaces like this reveal our social def icit.

They make visible the loneliness baked into modern routines. They show us that isolation isn’t just a personal problem; it’s structural. Yet these spaces quietly intervene, giving us the chance to inhabit life differently to pause, to overhear a laugh, to notice the sunlight hitting the corner of a table, to meet someone new, to remember what it feels like to exist around other humans. They are doing more than serving coffee; they are social laboratories, microcosms of human connection.

As we move from our hometowns and become adults, where there are no longer structures in place to provide us with community, we have to seek it out ourselves. Manchester is not short of this. What the city reminds us is that community is on the other side of independence - you don’t have to do it all alone, you don’t have to live in isolation. This is what makes me civically proud to live in Manchester. And this little café is, to me, a true representation of what it means to have civic pride.

Feel Good Club This cafe was set up during the pandemic, with their main focus being on mental well-being. Offering well-being classes such as yoga and different workshops. This had become a hub for people to reconnect with other people after covid but more importantly it allowed for people to reconnect with themselves. People had time to prioritise themselves and navigate ways they could f ind community within new unknown times.

This independent space, unfortunately, had to shut in September 2025 due to 'the on-going hospitality crisis'. The cost of keeping these independently run businesses open is often too high: maintenance cost, bills and other everyday costs put immense pressure on these local independent businesses. Chain restaurants and cafes are able to monopolise within these areas through their advertisements and better resources. New 'trends' can also pose a threat to these small businesses due to fast changing demands. The fast turnover of businesses often can leave its local area with a feeling of instability.

Feel Good offered a unique experience where people discovering how to take care of the mental and physical well-being paired with new found community.

As of early

Without these spaces, these pockets of 2026, the estimated community can get lost, New spaces might open survival rate for up and take their place but this does not mean Manchester independent the same community will remain. Civic Pride can businesses is 51.8%, often be lost in the face of losing these spaces with an average that become foundations of people's day to day expectancy of around life.

3.8 years. -

By Cleo Collyer

Manchester Mirror

Within Manchester, change is an inevitable continuous cycle. Highrises are constantly popping up, independent businesses sit alongside never-ending growing chains and once overlooked neighbourhoods are suddenly seen as a desirable place to live.

This process, gentrif ication, is often presented as a sign of a city's f lourishing. However it has a much larger impact on local communities and businesses.

Some of the most immediate effects of gentrif ication include a drastic rise in living costs. As we see an increase in rent more and more independent businesses face growing f inancial pressure, whilst some are able to adapt and withstand the pressures that come with gentrif ication, many face the consequences and are forced to close the businesses they have worked so hard on to create and form a home in the city.

For the locals who live in the city, many of the impacts are similar.

Gentrif ication can lead to a feeling of displacement as the community they once knew has since been taken by bigger industries. As we see these shifts we can also see the shift of character altering the established neighbourhoo ds and familiarity to something that seems so alien and unknown.

WHAT

IMPACT

DOES THE

GENTRIFICATION

OF OUR

CITY HAVE

ON ITS LOCAL COMMUNITY?

The impact of gentrif icat ion raises important questions of civic pride, it frequently promotes a vision of growth and developm ent, yet for many it is frequently associated with the preservati on of familiarity and remember ing the history.

Ultimately we cannot reduce the impact of gentrif ication to just these few things, whilst it does bring new opportunities for the city it risks undermining the ultimate sense of identity of Manchester. The challenge lies in balancing the growth of our community whilst valuing and remembering where our roots lie as a city

by Isabelle Acton

This and That:

how a rise in gentrif ication has affected long-standing businesses Nestled away in Manchester's Northern Quarter, This and That has been a staple of the city's food culture since 1984. Known for its affordable, no frills rice and three curries it represents the independent businesses that historically def ine Manchester's character.

Yet, in this era of rapid gentrif ication establishments like This and That face challenges to their survival.

The rise of gentrif ication in Manchester has brought signif icant economic transformation.

Areas which were once known for their working class communities and independent sellers are now subject to redevelopment and shifting demographics. Changes such as these often create an environment in which surviving becomes increasingly diff icult.

"The true meaning of place lies in the communities that hold a neighbourhood together," — Leslie Kern.

This and That stands in contrast to these changes. Rather than rebranding to f it the fast pace contemporary trends which come with gentrif ication it has maintained its original character. Its affordability and simplicity are exactly what continue to attract both loyal regulars and new customers. Its endurance highlights a tension in gentrif ication and whilst the city evolves, not all of its value lies in creating a new unrecognisable place but within continuity and familiarity.

The impact of gentrif ication for businesses like This and That is not only economic but also cultural. Independent establishments in the likes of This and That often act as community hubs where social interaction and local identity is found. When these places disappear the loss affects the social fabric of the city. Their survival is crucial to preserve a sense of place and history amid ongoing change.

This is where the preservation of This and That's community and business becomes a powerful representation of civic pride. Embodying a different form of the typical civic pride. It is rooted in its longevity and community connection.

Its continued presence ref lects a collective appreciation for what it represents for Manchester: authenticity, culture and belonging.

As well as this, the support it receives from its local community demonstrates how civic pride is actively maintained within these long standing businesses.

Choosing to return and support and value these community hubs is a way in which they assert what matters to them for Manchester. Applying this context to This and That it is clear that they are not simply surviving gentrif ication but they are resisting the impact of gentrif ication. Ultimately its story illustrates the broader impact that gentrif ication has on the long standing businesses of Manchester. While our city is continuously growing and changing places like these remind us that our identity is not within the new developments but through the preservation of those that have remained through it all.

by Isabelle Acton

MAP OF LOCAL PLACES

TO CHECK OUT

this and that

idle hands

off the press

variety of cuisine within China town

By Cleo Collyer

How does gentrification affect civic pride?

The gentrif ication of areas often forcefully displaces long-standing local communities. These communities of people slowly feel as though their place in their own city is being lost within the rapid development of their city.

New communities begin to emerge through said displacement. New 'trendy' areas begin to f lourish. Gentrif ication can have both negative and positive impacts upon a community. With a growing understanding of how it impacts local communities, we see recognition of these hidden pockets of community. One way gentrif ication can positively impact a community is through trends.

Trends often shine a spotlight upon different cultures and walks of life. Sometimes these 'new viral food' trends can have huge impacts on these communities. Sometimes the economic growth within an area can bring about new jobs and other economic activity in previously neglected areas.

With new pockets of community, diversity can be found. Within these communities of people that move to these cities you f ind new cultures and new stories of people's lives.

Often with new economic activity, investments into the local area also become a priority. Better public transport, more parks as well as more cultural spaces begin to emerge. This however is a doubled edged sword; home owners seeing an increase in their property value but on the other hand this means prices may start to exceed the proportional pay people in the area may receive.

For many locals, gentrif ication has damaged their own Civic Pride.

Gentrif ication for many can be detrimental not only for people's businesses but also people's living situation. Gentrif ication makes rent sky rocket as well as any new building developements are tailored to this in mind.

When these long standing locals are no-longer prioritised, people begin to lose their love for their own city. They no longer feel a priority, which in turn leads to a dissociation with their city and area.

In order for people to have the desire to care for their city, they must f irst feel as though they belong in their city.

Manchester as a city has a strong sense of civic pride that is ref lected in the ways the community try to uplift each other. The want to maintain independent family run businesses strengthens the community through these interpersonal relationships. Civic Pride is very visible within these small communties, which in turn strengthens the whole city. Despite the negative sides of gentrif ication on the city, Manchester as a social hub has continued to f lorish. What makes Manchester special is the people in it and the communties that constantly emerge.

RESEARCH PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD HAS FOUND THAT OF THE 24,728 HOMES BUILT IN THE MANCHESTER CITY CENTRE BETWEEN 2012 AND 2020, ONLY 151 OF THOSE HOMES ARE CLASSED AS AFFORDABLE, COMPLETELY UNDERMINING THE CITY-WIDE TARGET OF 20% (WHICH IN 2023 WAS INCREASED FURTHER TO 28%).’BIG ISSUE

By Cleo Collyer