Opinion

Breaking down silos: why major cities like London need integrated thinking

Fiona Woolf, former Lord Mayor of London

Fiona Woolf, former Lord Mayor of London and chair of the Base London advisory board, says we need an integrated discussion of the issues London needs to tackle.

When you are asked to think about measuring or characterising cities, what do you think about? Population, geography certainly and maybe also height, cost of living, pollution, congestion, crime? I think about people.

People in cities matter and the wealth created by citizens together is what makes cities valuable. The starting point of any urban development plan must be what the people that will be sustaining the success of the city will need to make it as successful long into the future as it has been in the past. 

Because we are living in a “new normal” of a resource-constrained, warming planet and a longer term mind-set, that exercise is all the more challenging.

"When you are asked to think about measuring or characterising cities, what do you think about?  Population, geography certainly and maybe also height, cost of living, pollution, congestion, crime?  I think about people."

As one of the pre-eminent global cities, London is a place where people come to live and work and need to be able to move about. But, to my mind its success in the long term will depend on a vision about what cities are for.

Cities are factories of the mind, driving innovation, creating wealth, and providing opportunity – opportunity of employment, education and equality. 

Successful cities will always be full of bustle, excitement, industry, exuberance, stimulation and variety – and they will always be victims of their own success because they will attract the planet’s fast growing, mobile, urban population. 

A recent study by Deloitte put London as the No.1 city for attracting the world’s top skilled workers. I put that down to the fact that London is a really nice place to live - as well as to work!

When you are asked to think about measuring or characterising cities, what do you think about?  Population, geography certainly and maybe also height, cost of living, pollution, congestion, crime? 

"Silos always miss an opportunity for optimisation – for joined up thinking that will deliver a smarter, better outcome."

I think about people.  People in cities matter and the wealth created by citizens together is what makes cities valuable. The starting point of any urban development plan must be what the people that will be sustaining the success of the city will need to make it as successful long into the future as it has been in the past. Because we are living in a “new normal” of a resource-constrained, warming planet and a longer term mind-set, that exercise is all the more challenging. 

That is why the Advisory Board, which I chair, is keen to present this year’s conference as an integrated discussion of the issues that London needs to tackle – as a whole, for the benefit of all the people who live and work in London. Silos always miss an opportunity for optimisation – for joined up thinking that will deliver a smarter, better outcome and a more efficient use of scarce resources (the stuff of the “new normal”).

Last year, as Lord Mayor of London, I argued that London is a city of cities – a City for cities. Today, we will demonstrate exactly that.

Fiona Woolf is former Lord Mayor of London and chair of the Base London Advisory Board

 

Base London takes place at Guildhall on 30 June. For details visit and to book your place visit www.basecities.com/london/booking