Journal

Can town planners in The Netherlands learn from new development in London?

Over three days I guided a team from The Hague around new and emerging urban quarters in King’s Cross Central, Stratford City, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Fish Island and Elephant Park. We visited notable buildings and spaces by Hopkins Architects, Haworth Tompkins, Stanton Williams, Morris+Company, Bell Phillips, Allies and Morrison, Gillespies, Townshend Landscape Architects and Zaha Hadid Architects .

There was a great deal of appreciation for the high quality of public space and architecture across the estates with stimulating debate focussed on;

• Alternative mechanisms for delivering regeneration.
• Whether gentrification is an inevitable result of regeneration and how regeneration can benefit the wider community.
• Approaches to masterplanning and design coding.
• How London is heavily reliant on the private sector to deliver its major regeneration schemes. The benefits and consequences.
• What ‘affordable’ housing actually means in London.
• The richness in the relationship between newbuild and retaining heritage assets.
• The rise and rise of student housing.

We also learned that you can spot planners through their love of map print shirts, that London policy on zero car parking for new housing is actually ahead of that in The Hague and that the challenges facing the two cities are remarkably similar.

With thanks to Ken Okonkwo and Peter Maxwell for their valuable contribution, depth of knowledge and insights.