London today has become ‘a laboratory and testing ground’ for neoliberal capitalism, attracting investment from the Middle East, Russia, India, the Far East and Australasia as well as the US. Murray Fraser describes the urban impact of economic globalisation in the capital, while exploring ways that it might potentially be countered. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Planning in the capital is at a watershed. Development has become almost entirely market-driven and the government's localism agenda now requires that local authorities take a back seat. Does this leave a role for inclusive regeneration strategies led by the public sector? Peter Bishop thinks so. He illustrates his argument with the work of Design for London and the London Borough of Newham at the Royal Docks in East London. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Matthew Carmona tracks the vicissitudes of London's political engagement in urban design over the last decade. He reveals the strengths, weaknesses and remarkable similarities of the approaches of the two Mayors of London, Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Beyond the City's walls, Southwark was for hundreds of years one of the capital's liveliest boroughs: London's industrial backyard and entertainment district. It was the site of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens as well as several prisons, such as the Marshalsea. However, it fell into decline in the late 20th century as print works and the London docks closed. Matthew Gandy describes a new development in Southwark, adjacent to Tate Modern, which marks its reinvention as a luxurious enclave for the internationally rich. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Michael Batty redefines regeneration within the context of a wider system of urban reproduction. A spontaneous response to self-organisation, regeneration is a force that can just as easily manifest itself in dereliction and decline. As part of a bottom-up system, what role can there be for intervention by designers and policy-makers? Batty suggests how urban planning needs to identify key points where small change can lead to massive change for the better, so as ‘to plant seeds that do not fall on stony ground’. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
On the 75th anniversary of Lewis Mumford's rhetorical essay ‘What is a City?’, Austin Williams asks whether we risk defining cities out of existence. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
As London prepares to host the Olympic Games for the third time, David Littlefield reflects on the fortunes of White City, the West London site that hosted the event a little over a century ago. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Robert Harbison describes how the upgrading and extension of the old East London Line, which connects the city east and south, enables new explorations and insights. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Large swathes of London's West End remain under the ownership of the Great Estates, with the Grosvenor Estate (Duke of Westminster) owning much of Mayfair and the Cadogan family (Earl of Cadogan) much of Chelsea. Terry Farrell looks at how this long-term custodianship has impacted on the development of the fabric of the city and its strong sense of place. He explains how it is a model that he has tried to draw from in his own Earl's Court masterplan. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mike Devereux sets out to explode the myth that London is an organic, unplanned city shaped by economic forces, and Paris is, in contrast, a planned city moulded by the state. He describes the many similarities that the two cities share and how planning ideas in fact ‘flowed between the capitals’ during the Haussmann era. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Designers have long used fantastical imagery as part of an urban regeneration process. Here, Louis Rice examines the legacy of Foreign Office Architects' seminal image for the 2005 winning bid for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Steven Tomlinson, a senior designer at the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), describes the challenges that exist post-Games in fully integrating the Olympic Park into the wider city's fabric and linking surrounding neighbourhoods with the site. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Richard MacCormac evokes the Thames' defining relationship with London, as the boundary between north and south, the primacy of the north bank having remained almost unchallenged until the 21st century with the development of Tate Modern and the rejuvenation of the south bank. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A number of powerful individuals have played a significant role promoting regeneration in London. Peter Murray describes some of those who make up this important network of politicians, civil servants, planners and developers. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Artist Hilary Powell describes how her work in film, food and the pop-up book offers playful critiques of regeneration and place making. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
In the last few decades, the boundaries of London have become difficult to demarcate with intense urbanisation and increasing pressure on the green belt. Matthew Gandy explores the significance of the city's fringe and its ‘edge’ landscapes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.