Design for London

Design for London was a uniqueexperiment in urban planning, design and strategic thinking. Set up in 2006 byMayor Ken Livingstone and his Architectural Advisor, Richard Rogers, the brieffor the team was 'to think about London, what made London unique and how itcould be made better'. Sitting within London government but outside its formalstatutory responsibilities, it was given freedom to question and challenge. Theteam had no power or money, but it did have the licence to operate without theusual constraints of government.With introductions from KenLivingstone and Richard Rogers, Designfor London covers the tumultuous and heady period of the first decade ofthis century when London was a test bed for new ideas. It outlines how keyprojects such as the London Olympics, public space programmes, high streetregeneration and greening programmes were managed, critically examines thelessons that might be learnt in strategic urban design and considers how adesign agenda for London could be developed in the future.By providing an engaging account of thestrategic approaches and work of Design for London, and documenting the particularmethodology and approach to urban theory it developed, Design for London will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduatestudents of planning, urban design and architecture, and to currentpractitioners from the public, private and community sectors who are strugglingto achieve regeneration through poorly understood 'placemaking' concepts.