How One Plan Manages Growth in London

In this city of 200 consolidated villages, growth is now governed by one document: the London Plan. As deputy mayor for policy and planning, as well as the mayor’s chief of staff, Sir Edward Lister must manage a host of variables in quadrennial updates to the London Plan. 

Lister recently spoke with The Planning Report while visiting Los Angeles for the CityAge LA conference. He commented on the most recent London Plan, which reflects the city's contemporary concerns: density and connectivity.

The plan identifies "opportunity areas" in need of revitalization, where the city hopes to densify and build affordable housing on brownfield land. And "the key to lifting up those areas is opening up transport," Sir Lister says.

Lister also notes the success of London's dual response to traffic as the city grows: implementing congestion pricing, and creating parking maximums based on connectivity to transit in the area.

How these planning, development, and transportation functions get funded, however, is an increasingly pressing question—and one that the States might help answer. "We watch very closely what happens in the US," Sir Lister notes. "You’ve had to do what we’re now having to do: find other ways of raising money to build infrastructure. You have a much more flexible system, which has allowed you to raise cash to bring about the changes you need through TIF and levies. We are quite interested in your funding mechanisms."