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Localism in London

London is distinct from any other part of the country in terms of architecture and design.  It has a different planning regime, larger areas of development and regeneration, significant strategic issues and the most diverse population. 

The changes in the planning system towards ‘localism’ present significant challenges and opportunities to councils and communities alike as they adjust to the shift in emphasis and identify the strengths and weaknesses of their skills, resources and funding.

Our advocacy and enabling programmes directly address change in the built environment and support the capital’s decision-makers in finding creative, effective and innovative solutions to issues affecting both neighbourhoods and the city as a whole. These include the provision of housing that is affordable, sustainable and well-designed and built; the planned and gradual greening of our capital, particularly in the context of energy concerns; and the creation of places where people want to live and work.

Advocacy

Architecture and the built environment has always had a significant impact on people’s lives, with an increasingly acknowledgment of its value in improving the quality of life.

Advocacy work invites decision makers to widen their appreciation of urban design and architecture, and the interaction between these that contributes to making great places. This involves hands on exercises and visits to respected schemes on the ground throughout London, ensuring that ‘seeing is believing’.  The programme includes our highly successful Exemplar programme for councillors and our work with Residents’ Design Workshop, which are respectively open to all elected members and established Community Forums with London’s boroughs.

With increasing strains on resources, we believe that organisations also need to challenge the way they structure and deliver their service, ensuring that it is well focussed, recognising strengths and weaknesses. Potentially alongside Exemplar and Residents Design Forum, Open-City can offer an evaluation of local design resources – a health check - including skills, structure and strategy, which can help to identify strengths and weaknesses in the organisation.  Open City can also discuss and advise on design quality assessments, such as the use of local design review and design standards.

For more information email our Advocacy team.

 

The changing face of London

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