Past Projects
Future of London’s past projects cover wide ranging, critical issues with practical guidance to help urban practitioners and city makers navigate the fast pace of change in our cities. FoL works with cross-sector partners who contribute case studies, ideas, perspectives and speakers.
FoL produces practical briefings and reports from all its research projects. View our publications back catalogue.
People, Place and Community
Covid-19 has thrown a spotlight on the power of social and neighbourhood networks. It has changed how we experience both private and public space and, for some, has meant spending a lot more time locally. FoL’s 2020 project will investigate the role that both people and place play in creating community and will explore how London’s built environment sector can help forge and maintain a sense of belonging in new builds and existing neighbourhoods.
Achieving Net Zero
The transition to a zero carbon London will impact all aspects of urban life: from the design and planning of the homes and neighbourhoods and the infrastructure we build. to the frequency and mode by which we travel, and the commodities and waste we produce. Built environment professionals have a key role to play in leading this transition and this project will explore what this means on the ground, sharing insight, innovation and best practice.
Paying For Public Projects
Public budgets are shrinking, the EU tap is about to close, and funding sources are changing fast. We need more effective ways to pay for and deliver public projects. Future of London’s 2019 project will review existing and new funding sources, outline implications for each stream, and assess their merits based on real-world experience, expertise and evaluation.
Healthy Homes
Poor quality housing is strongly linked to inequalities in health. Future of London, Catherine Max Consulting, and the King’s Fund are developing solutions and recommendations for Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity to help improve health and reduce health inequalities in Lambeth and Southwark, with lessons for urban and health practitioners across London and other cities.
London Borough Skills Mapping
London Boroughs are entering the house building market after a 30-year break but don’t have established and skilled teams ready to deliver. As a result, councils are recruiting and buying in skills and expertise, and competing with the private sector and housing associations. FoL is mapping the skills of housing delivery teams through a survey and interviews to help boroughs collaborate to address skills gaps and develop recruitment and retention strategies.
Building Resilient Workspaces
This half-day conference examined the state of the market, what value workspaces can play beyond desks for hire, implications of the GLA’s pilot accreditation scheme and, most importantly, how to deliver resilient workspaces that work for London’s future.
Water Works: Making the Most of London’s Waterways
London’s biggest Opportunity Areas are located along the city’s rivers, canals and docks, bringing significant waterside development in coming years. Running throughout 2019, this project showcased innovative schemes involving waterways and the strategies, policies and partnerships delivering them.
Foundations for Community-Led Housing
Community-led housing can deliver genuinely affordable homes, strengthen local networks, promote well-being, deliver social value and cater to the aspirations of a growing number of older Londoners. With a growing number of local authorities keen to encourage community-led housing, this series of workshops and events helped them understand and effectively respond to the needs of community groups seeking to deliver homes.
Social Value in Procurement
There’s appetite among local authorities and housing associations for understanding and requiring social value, but time-poor procurement teams are often overwhelmed with options, and rarely have time to share lessons learned. Through a series of events, this project gave practitioners a platform to share experiences, equipping London’s public sector to establish effective procurement practices that deliver demonstrable, social benefit for Londoners.
Knowledge Hub
FoL worked with GLA Skills & Employment, Rocket Science and the ERSA on the consultation for a new Skills & Employment Knowledge Hub for Londoners. A resource for policymakers, employers, training providers and learners, user input helped refine the direction for the Hub.
Overcoming London’s Barriers
Future of London’s major 2018 project addressed two types of barriers: physical severance such as road-, rail- and waterways, and artificial boundaries such as borough borders and the ‘red lines’ that delineate estates or opportunity areas. We explored how impacts are assessed, showcase effective solutions, and create practical recommendations.
Workspace for all
To coincide with Global Entrepreneurship Week 2018, Future of London and LB Hackney spotlighted diversity and inclusion in the workplace at Hackney House on 14 November. We invited public and private landowners and workspace providers to an afternoon of seminars and networking exploring current and emerging challenges in workspace provision.
Ageing Cities
As the fastest-growing demographic in the capital, older people will have a huge impact on London’s future. Future of London identified best practice, innovation and practical recommendations for creating healthy environments for ageing.
Smarter Cities
Future of London’s Smarter Cities project helped London’s regeneration and built environment professionals navigate the hype of ‘smart city’ technology to take practical steps towards setting up and managing projects which respond to their short-, medium- and long-term priorities.
Crossrail as Catalyst
Commissioned by GVA as part of their work on land value increases around Crossrail stations, Future of London interviewed local authorities, housing associations, and business improvement districts to understand the qualitative impact as Crossrail nears completion.
Engaging London’s Private Rented Sector
London’s private rented sector has potential to adapt to the city’s fast pace of change, but comes with complex challenges and rising costs. Future of London’s three-year project uncovered best practice for fostering a more equitable PRS.
Making the Case for Place
Future of London’s major 2017 programme set out to understand how different stakeholders value the impacts of placemaking and how to foster greater common among their views. Over the year, we brought together over 500 cross-sector individuals through field trips, workshops, roundtables, and a conference and developed a set of guiding principles for built environment professionals doing placemaking schemes.
Making Housing Delivery Models Work for London
This FoL/GVA project takes stock of the housing delivery models councils and the GLA family are using; estimates how many homes and how much affordable housing those are producing; and explores how to share skills and knowledge better, to make the most of these emerging models.
Workspace that Works
Demand for flexible, affordable workspace – including offices, studios, manufacturing, and incubator/accelerator spaces – is increasing. This year-long project gathered insight and best practice for public and private sector organisations seeking to establish workspace in London.
Making the Most of Build to Rent
With London’s housing market in an era of chronic undersupply, both public and private sectors are welcoming build to rent: housing designed and managed specifically for private renters. This project provided an overview of the evolving policy landscape and burgeoning development activity in London.
Priorities for Transport in a Growing London
London’s population growth adds pressure to the transportation network, much of which is nearing capacity. This series of seminars and workshops in autumn 2016 highlighted policy and delivery issues relating to large-, mid-, and small-scale transport schemes ahead of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy being published.
Managing London’s Exposure to Climate Change
Climate change-related events can cause significant damage to a infrastructure, not to mention astronomical repair bills. In London, surface water flooding, overheating, and drought are looming threats, but awareness and ownership of these issues is lacking. Managing London’s Exposure highlights how stakeholders can work together to mitigate and adapt to climate change, avoiding hefty costs and disruption.
The Evolution of London’s Business Improvement Districts
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) have become key players in the liveability of this complex city, funding local employment schemes, improving the public realm, and influencing planning and regeneration. This growing influence means BIDs must be accountable and navigate changing relationships – political, contractual and operational. Our BIDs report charts that path with a focus on high street and town centre BIDs. Read more here.