A New Piece of City: How Do We Imagine the Future of London, and Who Is It For?
WEDNESDAY 4TH MAY
Church Hall, St. Botolph without Bishopsgate
‘A new piece of city’ is a phrase often used to convey a type of civic sensibility – but no place is completely new. Despite the polished visions represented on hoardings across London, from King’s Cross to Greenwich, Vauxhall to Battersea, each regeneration project starts from a place that is perhaps a little rough around the edges. It’s a process that involves an adjustment in the perception of an area alongside its physical improvements.
We hear the most about this when the act of looking forward feels synonymous with an erasure of the past. Recent stories include Tottenham’s Latin Village, which recently avoided redevelopment after a 15-year battle. In this scenario, the role of time is clear – a city isn’t made overnight, so who is it that really participates in the making of a place? How do we recognise the role of maintenance and ongoing care, and where do we draw the line between cultivation and control?
Chair: Will Palin, Chief Executive Officer of Barts Heritage Trust
Panellists:
Ellen Halstead, Peabody’s Director of Strategy & Programme for Thamesmead
Thomas Ball, Director of Our Yard at Clitterhouse Farm
Julian Robinson, LSE Director of Estates
Charlotte Levy, Project Coordinator at Community Brain