Tower Hamlets - a city?

It's not just Croydon. Apparently Tower Hamlets is also seeking city status. I can see the logic for Croydon - the attention might help it draw the investment it wants to turn the area around. And its geography, far from the centre of London, makes it plausible (it was a seperate town until 1965). But Tower Hamlets? Surely not as The Economist mulls just an attempt by the elected mayor to raise his profile cheaply?

A baby boom in London

When I was at university, conventional wisdom seemed to dictate that while many of my friends would migrate to London to start their careers, when they started having babies they would return to Edinburgh - a much nicer place to raise children. But according to The Economist, that's not the case. So many babies are being born in Britain's capital, that it is causing havoc for the planners: schools and maternity services can hardly keep up.

Richard Rogers vs Prince Charles

Interesting article in The Guardian about Richard Rogers, 78, and his team, and their continued battles with HRH Prince Charles. On changes to the planning framework, he fears looser regulations could see parts of the South East starting to ressemble Malaga....

You Can't Say That

I've just finished reading the weighty tome that is Ken Livingstone's autobiography 'You Can't Say That.' I heard the man himself speak at the London Policy Conference last year, and was struck by how uncharistmatic (let's say flat) his delivery was. Where was the sparky Red Ken? I found him in this book.

Not having lived in London during Ken's stints at the GLC or as mayor of London, I wanted to know more about the man who likes newts. I learnt all I ever wanted to know and more (much, much more) in this detailed self-justification. At the outset, during a long first section of his impoverished childhood growing up in South London (not far from where I live now), followed by tediously detailed accounts of council committee meetings, I wasn't sure if I'd have the stamina to get to the end. But I persevered, and what came through was a conviction politician, shaped by an epic trip across Africa as a young man (something I'm glad to have read about, although while I was reading it, I wasn't so sure). It was also striking how market friendly and common sense is Red Ken, as opposed to the media portrait (it must be hard to fight your whole life against a picture you don't recognise).

Zero Carbon

An interesting talk at the NLA on Zero Carbon: a goal too far? began with Neil Jefferson, chief executive of the Zero Carbon Hub, talking us through government changes to the definition of zero carbon (reminiscent of Thatcher's changes to the definition of unemployyed, instantly bringing jobless queues down). What time we must waste manipulating figures to serve our causes.

I was mulling this when Jonathan Hines, director of Architype, started speaking and all this nit picking seemed irrelevant. In a strident speech, he said if zero carbon is the goal, we are asking ourselves the wrong questions. It's inefficient and wasteful to set up individual properties or developments to be zero carbon, which also provides no incentives for people to cut consumption. Far better to built mass recycling/ green energy installations and encourage thrift. He was convincing, and those who came after struggled with their pre-prepared speeches about construction of homes to Code Levels 4, 5 and 6.

Why are Britons so opposed to HS2?

The first train on the newly opened Paris to Strasbourg high-speed line in 2007 was full of journalists, but the French and British hacks had very different perspectives. As a France-based British journalist I had a foot in both caps. The French were interested in the technical achievements and the consumer experience, taking the advantages (economic growth for the region through better connectivity) as self evident and worth the disruption for folks living along the line (who were amply compensated). All the British questions focused on short-term considerations - how many years before the line would turn a profit etc.

I have often reflected on that journey as the debate over Britain's second high speed rail line (the first being forced by France on a reluctant Thatcher whose insistence that it didn't cost the taxpayer ruined hundreds of modest shareholders who ended up paying for it). News that the first phase (London to Brirmingham) of HS2 will go ahead has been met with threats of legal action. A public consultation showed respondents questioning the expense vs investment in the regular network, disruption to communities along the route, and environmental concerns.

If any country needs better connection to relieve pressure on an over-crowded capital suffering from a lack of housing, it is Britain. In France you can get from Marseille in the south to Paris in around three hours, allowing people who might like to live in the south of France, where there is a lack of jobs, the possibility to do so and still meet clients even for a breakfast meeting. It binds the country together and not only distributes the fruits of economic growth, but creates new growth possibilities through better connectivity. And France is hoping to build on its fast train network by connecting it to other countries and cement its geographical position as the centre of Europe. Poorly connected places on the periphery will be disadvantaged.

During the masters I just completed, I had cause to mull British and French attitudes. I think the difference lies in culture (less trusting of government), geography (crowded island, centralist government) and stingyness of compensation, and a short-termist attitude. Poor connectivity and infrastructure is one of the reasons cited by foreign investors for NOT putting their money into Britain. As the economic crisis bites, investors looking for safety are even less likely to look outside London. Even more reason to connect London to the rest of the country that as a capital it is supposed to serve. Budget considerations are clearly important at the current time, but we also need a long term strategy for our infrastructure needs that allows for balanced economic growth across the country, and not just harnessed to the south.

Edinburgh, Hogmanay and city branding

Way back when, before Edinburgh was the self-proclaimed New Year Capital of the World, Hogamanay was a much simpler affair. Everyone met at the Tron church for the bells, some midnight snogging occured, then everyone queued up to kiss the policemen and women. Then Edinburgh decided to build on its reputation for festivals and Scotland's reputation for New Year celebrations, and the party went professional. The city made the unlikely but prescient bet that tourists could be persuaded to come for an outdoor party in a freezing country where its likely to be either snowing or raining. Princes Street was closed off to become a party street, with bands playing from every corner. Only people with tickets (a proportion of which were initially free to residents) could enter. To get a seat in a pub required an early start, which in turn required stamina to last until midnight.
Tourists appeared to enjoy the Dec 31st celebrations, as they kept coming back in every greater numbers. Little thought had been given to what they might do Jan 1st, where almost everything bar the hotels was closed. That, I am happy to report, has all changed. Museuems are now open from 12-4, and bars and cafes - even a few shops - are bustling for business. Moreover, Edinburgh has invented the New Year's Games , with events all over the city centre pitting Uppies and against Doonies. You chose which team to support, with a basic guide that if you are from the north of your town or country you are an Uppie, and self-styled southerners are Doonies. I thought this highly creative and inventive, until an internet search revelead Edinburgh was probably not the first (although they deserve kudos for adopting the idea). Four venues including St Giles Cathedral, the National Museum, The Hub and The Grassmarket, hosted games which were fun for both adults and children. A minotaur was loose in the cathedral, and against a backdrop of beautiful music, you could sneak into his labyrinth and steal a ribbon off his back - if he didn't spot you moving first. It was beautiful, artistic and enticing. Ribbons were then translated into coins, which needed to be taken to Grassmarket to add to your team's tally. There, various activities including - when we were there - a humming game (essentially guess this song with humming), provided more entertainment.

Compared to many quiet town centres across Britain, Edinburgh was humming. And as the city branding competition intensifies, that must be a good thing for the place.