Mayor sets out his vision for the future of London as its population nears 10m

Speaking at the LSE, Sadiq Khan launches Good Growth by Design programme

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, yesterday launched his Good Growth by Design programme to enhance the design of buildings and neighbourhoods for all Londoners. In a major speech at the London School of Economics, the Mayor spoke of his vision for the future of London as the city’s population heads towards 10 million people.

In his first major intervention on this topic, the Mayor is calling on London’s architectural, design and built environment professions to help realise his vision of London as a city that is socially and economically inclusive as well as environmentally sustainable.

London needs to provide space for 46,000 new jobs and build 50,000 new homes a year just to keep up with demand, as well as build the social infrastructure to support both. Good Growth will enable this, leaving a legacy of world-class buildings, outstanding public realm and large-scale regeneration for Londoners of the future.

To support the Mayor’s ambitions and ensure development across London is high-quality, inclusive and sustainable, 50 Design Advocates will work with City Hall and councils on the programme. The advocates – half who are women and a quarter who are BAME – include celebrated architects Sir David Adjaye OBE and Sadie Morgan, as well as influential fashion designer Wayne Hemingway MBE. 

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “My vision for London is a city that enables all Londoners to reach their potential, a city that is inclusive and a city where growth brings benefits to communities. 

“London is facing unprecedented population growth and with that comes challenging work, but also amazing opportunities to deliver a city that is socially integrated, sustainable, healthier, safer and with a world class public realm. We must embrace London’s rapid growth with both hands and take this chance to use good architecture and planning to make a real difference to the lives of Londoners. And this is a chance to learn from past mistakes, some of which are still dotted across our city, and blight the lives of the communities that live in them.

“We’ve already seen examples of where good growth can lead to a host of other benefits such as better social integration amongst different communities and generations, and new transport links transforming areas and local economies.”