LONDON SOCIETY THE YEAR AHEAD

A multifaceted theme of ‘change’ asking ‘who is London for?’

Has London ever experienced the level of upheaval, complexity and unknown we face now? Pandemic, Brexit, climate change, housing crisis, privilege. Will things ever go back to normal? Or will this perfect storm have brought about profound and permanent change? This year’s London Society events programme takes as its overall theme “change”.

The Capital experienced an unprecedented year of upheaval during 2020 and this has led to a series of big questions about the impact of the global pandemic, Brexit and climate change – alongside the normal pressures that the city faces as it grows and develops. Be it short- or long-lasting, this will be a year of change, and we invite you to join us as we explore what change looks like through a number of programme strands, including Ways of living, Ways of working, Transport and How we meet (which considers the effects on the public realm, retail hubs and going out). And in line with our motto - “valuing the past; looking to the future” we shall try and put these issues into context: how does now compare to previous times of profound change? And what opportunities do we have to bring about the change we want? We will also be running the Planning School again this autumn, and the Architecture School returns in spring for a new series of classes on the built environment. There are also a series of walks and virtual tours to examine different areas of the city and some of the new developments and buildings within it. The Ways of Living programme will be curated by the architectural practice Archio. This emerging practice has been developing its experience in housing and has recently completed a publication for TfL on new forms of development. The directors, Mellis Haward and Kyle Buchanan, will explore the health and wellbeing of housing design and how this is valued by commissioners and communities alike.

The How we Meet strand is under the purview of Roland Karthaus of Matter Architecture and Diane Cunningham from the Assembly Line UK, and both are part of the High Streets Task Force. They will be examining the changing role of public space, especially given its renewed importance to civic life as we all learn to congregate outside. BDG are taking an international approach to the future of Working. What will be the effect of ‘WFH’; even once offices reopen we are likely to be working from home to a greater extent than pre-pandemic. Will this more flexible working cause a hollowing out of our commercial centres? What will this mean for our cities?

MICA is looking at London’s transport. With TfL’s revenues devastated, how do we finance public transport and how else might we move millions of people around the capital? At present, events are planned to be digital, but as lockdown eases - and when it is quite safe to do so - we shall move back to holding ‘physical’ events and tours. We hope that you can join us at some point this year.