So, what does London do well?
London is one of the most diverse cities in the world – and home to people from a wide range of backgrounds. London’s strength lays not only in its agglomeration or its appeal as a business capital, but its appeal to all – rich or poor – as a world city. This is apparent through its culture, food and diverse villages.
Frankly, it was also apparent through the recent counter-protests organized in the capital, organized to highlight the city’s sense of community and multicultural citizenship.
The Mayor’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy External Link in 2022 replaced a previous strategy published in 2018, putting a focus on London as a great place to live, a great place for young people, a great place to work and do business, getting around, a safe healthy and enjoyable city, and leading by example.
In 2019 London became the world’s first National Park City. 50% of the city is green and blue space, and is home to over 15,000 species, 8 million trees and many protected habitats. This is important in a number of ways, whether in terms of delivering affordable (and most of the times free) space for people to meet, or for providing accessible amenity.
The city’s ability to evolve is also important and its NO2 levels have dramatically improved. Greater biodiversity, and green coverage will be increasingly important components of the city. The Mayor of London’s introduction of ULEZ was an example of pushing through impactful if controversial reform.
What can London do better?
The new Labour government has come to power on a manifesto of delivering more housing. London needs to deliver more housing across the spectrum. Not all of this needs to be in London per se – the city’s daytime population brings in people from far and wide – but spatial needs will continue to evolve; development is required to house the city’s existing and future talent, but also cater across ability and generational gaps.
Investment also needs to go into the city’s transport infrastructure. While the city’s underground network is vast and enables connectivity across a wide range of geographies, the transport systems can be difficult for many, and unpleasant for even more. New infrastructure, increased accessibility External Linkand management of congestion will cater towards a larger number of Londoners.
London is a global megacity. However, it is also one of the least economically diversified cities in the world, through its exposure to Financial and Business Services. London’s success will depend on its ability to capture a wave of high-tech growth industries that will continue to expand over the next 20 years. This will mean catering towards all people, and being able to create an inclusive environment to flourish.
There’s no getting around the fact that London is an expensive place to live. While the London Living Wage is well-established, it still very much is not universal. What is good news, is that there is increased proliferation. In the last month, Ealing became the latest borough to become a Living Wage Place after Southwark and Islington.
It is essential that the built environment cater towards engendering inclusivity. The London Sustainable Development Commission has recently published its report on embedding social value into the London Plan External Link. This can be manifested in a number of different ways. In our MyCity: London last year, we at Cushman argued for a private sector charter on regeneration in London ensuring that development catered towards cross-sectors of society; avoiding displacement and enabling everyone to be able to access resources and amenity that new development can bring.
HOW WE CAN HELP
