Centre or Suburb? Locating the soul of 21st-century London
Friday 6 May 2016 6.30 - 8pm
Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, Piccadilly, W1
£12. Reductions £6.
Inspired by the RA’s 'Urban Jigsaw' project, a panel of speakers debate the most critical issues facing London over the next few decades – from housing and infrastructure to culture and community.
London is at a cross-roads. In many ways it has become a victim of its own success, as the social and cultural mix that has a played a huge part in its economic and cultural success over recent decades is threatened by a lack of properly affordable housing and workspaces. As property prices rise to ever higher levels, more and more young people, especially, are finding themselves forced from the centre, or in some instances from the city entirely. So, arguably, the most pressing question facing London over the next few decades is how can its population continue to increase without at the same time destroying what makes it such a successful city – economically and culturally?
The RA’s 'Urban Jigsaw' project contends that one answer to this question can be found in the still untapped potential of London’s brownfield sites. At the same time, increasing attention is being paid to the suburbs as the solution to London’s problems.
In this event, our panel debate how London should be approaching the next stage of its history. Does London’s future lie in the centre or the suburb? How can we plan strategically without destroying the spontaneous and the organic? Where should we be looking for the soul of 21st-century London?
Speakers
Hannah Barry – founder, Hannah Barry Gallery and Bold Tendencies;
Martyn Evans – property developer; former Creative Director, U+I;
Rowan Moore – Author, Slow Burn City; architecture critic, the Observer
Fran Tonkiss – Professor of Sociology, and Director of the Cities Programme, LSE;
Owen Hopkins – Architecture Programme Curator, Royal Academy of Arts (chair)