Design for London

Experiments in urban thinking

Edited by Peter Bishop and Lesley Williams

ISBN: 9781787358942

Publication: December 10, 2020

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What is this?

Design for London was a unique experiment in urban planning, design and strategic thinking. Set up in 2006 by Mayor Ken Livingstone and his Architectural Advisor, Richard Rogers, the brief for the team was ‘to think about London, what made London unique and how it could be made better’. Sitting within London government but outside its formal statutory responsibilities, it was given freedom to question and challenge. The team had no power or money, but it did have the licence to operate without the usual constraints of government.

With introductions from Ken Livingstone and Richard Rogers, Design for London covers the tumultuous and heady period of the first decade of this century when London was a test bed for new ideas. It outlines how key projects such as the London Olympics, public space programmes, high street regeneration and greening programmes were managed, critically examines the lessons that might be learnt in strategic urban design and considers how a design agenda for London could be developed in the future.

By providing an engaging account of the strategic approaches and work of Design for London, and documenting the particular methodology and approach to urban theory it developed, Design for London will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students of planning, urban design and architecture, and to current practitioners from the public, private and community sectors who are struggling to achieve regeneration through poorly understood ‘placemaking’ concepts.

Peter Bishop is Professor of Urban Design at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.

Lesley Williams is Partner at Bishop & Williams Ltd.

List of figures
Notes on contributors
Foreword: strategies for a global city
Ken Livingstone
Foreword: London, a city of beauty, a city for its citizens
Richard Rogers

Acknowledgements

Introduction: urban interventions in a time of rapid global change

Peter Bishop

1. London, the unique city: the establishment of the Architecture and Urbanism Unit

Peter Bishop, Lara Kinneir and Mark Brearley

2. Design for London: an interesting but short life

Peter Bishop, Lara Kinneir and Mark Brearley

3. High street places: doing a lot with a little

Tobi Goevert and Adam Towle

4. Better housing for London: how on earth did we pull that off?

Richa Mukhtia

5. Peopled landscapes