Riverside, Cardiff

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right|thumb|This_former_synagogue is now an office block, and is on Cathedral Road.]

Riverside (Welsh: "Glan yr Afon") is an inner-city area of Cardiff, Wales. The electoral ward can be split into two very different parts, Riverside and Pontcanna.

Riverside-proper, south of Cowbridge Road East, consists mainly of terraced houses and is a focus for much of the city's ethnic minority population, with sizeable communities of Bangladeshis, Sikh and Chinese, particularly around Tudor Street which has a strongly ethnic feel to it.

Although one of Cardiff's poorer areas, Riverside has much to offer with many Chinese, Halal, Indian, and West Indian shops selling a range of foods. The Riverside Community Market Association has also made great strides in recent years by gradually building up a weekly Sunday Farmers' market.

Other signs of regeneration include the area becoming the focus for Cardiff's rapidly expanding budget accommodation with three backpacking hostels in close proximity to each other.

A number of charities also operate in Riverside including The Samaritans, and The Wallich Clifford Community project.

Pontcanna on the other hand, is a very well to do area of wide tree-lined streets and large houses. It is a gentrified "media Village" with a cafe culture-lifestyle centred around Pontcanna Street and Cathedral Road. It is interesting demographically due to both its large English born population and large Welsh language speaking political and media class.

Sophia Gardens is home to the Glamorgan County Cricket Club, and the Welsh Institute of Sport.

Government

The Riverside electoral ward falls into the parliamentary constituency of Cardiff West. It is bounded by the wards of Gabalfa to the north; Cathays to the east; Grangetown to the south; and Canton and Llandaff to the west.

Local Organisations

Situated on the Riverside section of Cowbridge Road East, "Cardiff & District Samaritans" are one of the area's more visible voluntary organisations.

Famous People

* Ivor Novello composer, singer, actor

References

External links

* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2774348 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Riverside and surrounding area]