Centre for London has today urged the new mayor to tackle conventional thinking – particularly on green belt, housing density and roads – which is threatening to undermine London’s success.
Keeping the Promise: A Manifesto for London, focuses on the capital’s biggest challenges. The manifesto proposes policy recommendations around governance, housing delivery, congestion and transport, economic transformation and civil society and community cohesion.
In the manifesto Centre for London calls on the mayoral candidates to commit to:
- Reviewing London’s green belt, to allow for carefully planned development while enhancing and improving the green belt’s environmental functions.
- Introducing city wide road pricing and promoting car sharing, to reduce congestion and air pollution, and create better public spaces for walking and cycling.
- Creating a more open and technologically engaged London Government, and turning London into a ‘sharing city’ – to enhance civic participation and embrace the problem solving potential of technology.
- Launching a London-wide campaign for devolution
On housing, Centre for London argues that the new mayor should take a more strategic, pan London approach to low income housing. The think tank suggests that by pooling developer contributions and using them to maximise the supply of affordable housing by building in less expensive areas, the new mayor could create balanced, mixed-income communities. The manifesto also argues that the new mayor should finding space for more homes in existing neighbourhoods, and push for higher density development around stations.
Ben Rogers, Director at Centre for London said:
“London does not just face a housing crisis. It faces a growth crisis. The new mayor will have to take some bold decisions on transport, affordable housing and new development. But Londoners increasingly recognise that things will have to change if the city is going work for them. The trick will be in being strategic, building alliances and taking Londoners with him or her.”