What’s next? NLA’s
The Changing Face of London report not only reviews the past 15 years but looks forward to the next era of London issues, public authorities, politicians, professionals and the public. It encourages us all to re-examine what we need from our city, lessons learnt and new criteria for the city’s priorities: scales of funding, delivery and quality in a less healthy, much-changed competitive era for investors and stakeholders.
Will uncertainty and lack of confidence (the familiar economic negatives) win the day? Or will we look to the successes of the past to undo conventional over-ambitious mega projects?
A strategy of “small is beautiful” projects,may have found its new time, one which could meet the needs of London’s recovery and reimagined priorities. The financial leverage of added value of such an approach has often been overlooked, overshadowed or commercially concealed within much larger projects in ‘old normal’ times.
In this ‘new normal’ we need to focus on a return to the proven, tested urban tools, from regeneration and conservation to retrofitting and environmentally sustainable design. Public realm improvement, new pocket parks and green street links between established parks and gardens, with new and restored external spaces and places for added heritage value, arts (more weather protected, open-air theatre/cinema/exhibitions) and culture should all be publicly promoted with catalyst funding.
Awaiting private developments and major new infrastructure and funding, which has been the route in the last 15 years, may not be reliable and quick enough in our post-COVID world. We can create these improved spaces and places between developments, without being reliant on London’s large development programme coming to fruition.
These smaller projects are not only less costly and complex, but they can help us deliver long-awaited community placemaking (not least ideas of locally relevant, better diversity of the public arts, sculpture, statues and memorials). With stakeholder support, these projects could help our city rapidly, in reasserting and delivering more of the human priorities for London and its much-needed visitors.
The Covid-19 lessons have highlighted London’s deficiencies and vulnerabilities. Now is the time to re-imagine its success, across culture, history, lifestyles, urban living and prosperity.