Ben Bowles, "Boaters of London: Alternative Living on the Water" (Berghahn Books, 2024)
Mar 21, 2025
auto_awesome
Ben Bowles, a Lecturer in Social Anthropology and researcher, explores the fascinating world of London's boaters. He shares his transformative journey of living on water, uncovering the dynamics of community and governance among this unique subculture. Bowles discusses how these itinerant lifestyles challenge traditional state interactions and the complexities of self-sufficiency. His insights reveal the tension between independence and state support, while celebrating the sustainability and diversity of life afloat in urban landscapes.
London's boaters exemplify a diverse community, embodying a lifestyle choice that challenges traditional urban living due to high costs.
The researcher's immersive approach revealed the daily complexities and practical skills essential for living aboard a boat, emphasizing community ties.
Boaters navigate the tension between individual freedom and state governance, asserting their existence while facing neoliberal pressures and regulatory challenges.
Deep dives
Understanding London's Boaters
London's boaters represent a diverse community that chooses to live on the city's canals and rivers, often as a response to the high cost of urban living. There are various types of vessels used as homes, with narrowboats being the most common. While estimates suggest a few thousand people engage in this lifestyle, defining the exact number proves challenging due to the fluid nature of their living arrangements. Many of these boaters view their choice of living on the water as more than just a financial decision; it embodies a quest for freedom, community, and an alternative lifestyle.
The Methodology of Immersion
The research into the lives of London boaters involved extensive participant observation, where the researcher immersed themselves in the community and eventually lived on a boat for several years. This approach allowed for a profound understanding of the daily realities and complexities faced by boaters, highlighting the importance of practical skills and community ties. The process of learning everything from engine maintenance to navigating locks became integral to understanding what it means to be a boater. This long-term immersion also revealed the evolving dynamics of the community and the shifting challenges they face within the urban environment.
The Dual Nature of Neoliberalism
The boaters’ experiences reflect both the challenges posed by neoliberal policies and their responses to such pressures. As the state retreats from certain responsibilities, individuals often take to alternative living arrangements, like boating, in search of affordability and autonomy. However, this choice is also shaped by regulatory frameworks and societal attitudes towards mobile populations. The tension between state governance and individual freedom creates a complex dynamic, as boaters navigate contradictory demands from authorities while asserting their right to exist in urban waterways.
Community as a Verb
Community among London's boaters is an active, fluid construct that is cultivated through mutual support and shared experiences, rather than a fixed group identity. The notion of 'doing community' emphasizes the importance of social bonds and the assistance boaters provide each other, particularly in navigating the challenges of life on the water. Social gatherings, informal support networks, and communal events reinforce this sense of belonging within a transient lifestyle, demonstrating that community is forged through actions and relationships. This perspective challenges traditional concepts of community that often prioritize stability and fixed geographical boundaries.
Alternative Living in Urban Settings
The term 'alternative living' in the context of London's boaters encapsulates a desire to break free from the conventional expectations of urban life, particularly in a megacity known for its high living costs. Many boaters articulate their lifestyle choice as a rebellion against consumerism and societal pressures to conform to normative lifestyles. While the freedom of living on water is appealing, it also comes with challenges that require adaptability and resilience. This alternative lifestyle resonates with broader movements seeking new forms of community and sustainable living, highlighting the essence of autonomy in defining one's existence amid urban complexity.
Boaters of London is an ethnography that delves into the process of becoming a boater, adopting an alternative lifestyle on the water and the political impact that this travelling population has on the state.
London and the Southeast of England in general is home to many people and families who live on narrowboats, cruisers and barges, along a network of canals and rivers. Many of these 'boaters' move from place to place every two weeks and form itinerant communities in the heart of some of the UK’s most crowded urban spaces. Boaters of London delves into the process of becoming a boater and the political impact of this travelling population on the state, the volume examines an alternative style of living and the potential of a life spent afloat.
Ben Bowles is Lecturer in Social Anthropology at SOAS, University of London. He is also Course Lecturer at Fordham University, London Campus, and Research Fellow at the Open University’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning. His research interests include economic and political anthropology, and the anthropology of the UK.
Yadong Li is a socio-cultural anthropologist-in-training. He is registered as a PhD student at Tulane University. His research interests lie at the intersection of economic anthropology, medical anthropology, hope studies, and the anthropology of borders and frontiers. More details about his scholarship and research interests can be found here.
