My one wish from the next London mayor would be to commission a new era of publicly funded social housing to solve London’s housing crisis. The next mayor must not adopt a laissez-faire attitude to social housing and urbanism, and it is not enough to rely on housing associations or the private sector to provide affordable homes, often off the back of luxury flats for sale to foreign investors.Looking back, I was always impressed with the publicly funded work of the London County Council (LCC) then the Greater London Council (GLC) which, together with enlightened local authorities, commissioned visionary high-density residential schemes in the 1960s and 70s, such as the LCC’s Roehampton Estate, Thamesmead by the GLC, or the exemplary work of Darbourne & Darke at Lillington Road (commissioned by City of Westminster) and Marquess Road Estate in Islington. These, together with the work of Neave Brown at Alexandra Road in Camden and of course the Barbican by the City of London, were bold and imaginative high-density publicly funded residential schemes. Today it is pleasing to see some local authorities (including the GLA) commissioning exciting new schemes by skilled architects and urbanists such as Peter Barber Architects. Such schemes give new hope for the future of London’s public housing. The next mayor should scale up their ambition and create a new bold vision for London’s social housing. Why not obtain funding from the new UK National Infrastructure Bank? After all, Sunak has set it up to publicly fund large projects as part of the government’s so called ‘levelling-up’ agenda. The new mayor should put it to the test.

Fareen Lalani, Development director, Quintain

‘Homes for Londoners’ is a great initiative: everyone agrees that there is an urgent need to provide thousands of homes that people can genuinely afford to rent or to buy. However, alongside the desire to deliver ever increasing numbers of affordable homes sometimes comes the pressure to overlook the quality of the wider setting, whether that be the spaces between buildings, the street furniture, landscaping materials, planting or necessities like the design of bin stores. Poor design affects people’s wellbeing, personal safety, pride in the places in which they live and the longevity of places as they adapt over time. With the current emphasis on staying at and close to home, these spaces, whether for access, play, leisure, retail, community uses or even for working, have never been more important.Good design across all aspects of a building and its setting is crucial, and it would be a shame if this were given less attention in pursuit of ‘unit numbers’, as even small sites have an enormous impact on their local environment. I would like to see the next London mayor take a position of strong leadership, incentivising local authorities to create places that are sustainable in all senses of the word. With ambitious plans to deliver large numbers of new homes in the coming years, there is a fantastic opportunity to also create beautiful places in which to live, right across the capital.

Andrew Costa, Partner, Ryder Architecture

As designers, we curate places for communities to live and thrive. Places that enhance physical and mental wellbeing and promote social and cultural interaction. Our ability to influence these factors and inter-relationships in our city has a huge impact, and our industry demands strong leadership with a clear plan. The London mayor has a responsibility to provide this leadership, one which I believe can only be achieved if detached from the anchor of political allegiances. London’s identity is intrinsically linked to its people. My one wish from the next London mayor would be to represent these broader communities more strongly across greater London. One voice with an emphasis on socially and culturally connecting us ALL with our city. I am looking for leadership that embraces diversity and freedom of expression — tackling inequality, but not losing sight of those Londoners who may be feeling undervalued and left behind.

James Morgan, Director, Heyne Tillett Steel

The next mayor of London has an amazing opportunity to implement fundamental changes to improve the quality of life for all Londoners. The pandemic has provided us all with the chance to re-assess what we genuinely value about our lives in this amazing city. It is essential that the new mayor takes up the role of custodian of our built environment, demanding better use of our existing buildings, championing adaption rather than demolition and calling for mandatory future adaptability studies at the outset of all major developments. This would clearly show the materials/carbon to be invested in a new building and how it can be adapted for changing future use, ensuring our new buildings last for hundreds of years, rather than the average 30 years we have now.I would like to see a move away from cars having a priority over all other road users. The hierarchy should be flipped with pedestrian needs being paramount. Whole streets could be shut to traffic and returned to the people. We must take the positives from the pandemic and use it to create a truly sustainable city for everyone.

Howard Gray, PR and specification manager, GreenBlue Urban

The next mayor faces some serious challenges — with a rising population, climate change and dealing with the aftermath of a pandemic just some of the issues in the in-tray. With pressures on the retail sector, the mayor will have to act decisively if the capital is to retain its position as one of the top cities in the world, investing in areas which will bring the best returns. So which areas are these? Research has shown that investing in green infrastructure has amazing results. One study showed that every £1 invested in tree planting returns £8 in benefits, such as increased footfall and retail spending, improved educational results, better health and wellbeing and an uplift in property values. But... only if the trees grow. Dead and dying green infrastructure brings nothing to the party.My one wish would be that we invest in urban tree planting. Not, however, by setting targets for numbers of trees planted, but instead canopy-cover percentage targets. Plant less and plant better. Front-load the costs to minimise the long-term liabilities and maximise the long-term benefits for future generations. Build back better and greener!

Ziona Strelitz, Founder director, ZZA Responsive User Environments

My Town Planning MPhil back then researched the benefits of mixed use — a strong ideal ever since. Now London’s emergence from COVIDpoises us well to promote it. The lively footfall on suburban high streets and outer centres evidences the vitality from functional variety close to homes — accentuated by the CBD’s current standstill. While I’m confident that London’s centre will thrum again, it’s time for a real push to greater mix — more than a couple of tick box ground floor ‘active frontage’ units with another coffee chain or juice bar. Vibrancy flows from useful, legible variety across sites and buildings — in section and plan, counter-balancing and complementing offices and housing. Kings Place — with its three floors of performance, gallery and eating venues combined with its major office content, exemplifies this traction. And deep urban synergies are generated by diversity beyond the dominant triad of office, resi and retail. Think GP practices — expanded for more holistic wellbeing, think libraries — providing third place workspace for people no longer commuting every day, think manned police stations redeemed from inaccessible industrial estates where they’ve been relocated. It’s time for greater, more granular spatial integration — fifteen minute, walkable, cyclable, convenient London, let’s bring it on.

Andrew Jones, Cities programme director (London), AECOM

The next mayor needs to offer an optimistic future for London and demonstrate that they are the right leader to work with Londoners, businesses and institutions towards a bright recovery.The pandemic has been a huge ‘shock’ to the city’s economy and cultural standing, affecting the health and confidence of Londoners. The full impact is not yet apparent, but we do know that we cannot return to the capital as it was in February 2020.A route out of the pandemic is the immediate focus. A new mayoralty is time to change the narrative. Not of over-optimistic promises, more one of confidence with a plan for a safe and welcoming city, shouting that London will be different but still vibrant, agile and inclusive, and can be better.Beyond moves to give citizens, visitors and investors the confidence to return, the mayor will also need to think long term: about a new London economy shaped by the acceleration of digital industries and flexible working routines; a new role for the Central Activities Zone (CAZ); and revitalised suburbs and new patterns of transport patronage. Quite an agenda, and we need a mayor who is optimistic delivering on it.