- London has a complex system of governance due to its large population, geography, and history. It has been governed by various authorities over time including the London County Council, Greater London Council, and current Greater London Authority led by an elected Mayor. - The Mayor is responsible for strategic planning and economic development through documents like the London Plan, while local services and planning are handled by 32 boroughs. - Key challenges facing London include housing shortages, transportation infrastructure strain, economic disparities within the city, and funding major projects. The impacts of the Mayor and changes to governance structures are ongoing topics of discussion around improving life in London.

2. Governing London
John Tomaney
Utzon Lecture, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 3 September 2014

3. London Sydney
• Established: 1788
• Area
– 12,367.7 km2 (4,775.2 sq mi)
• Population (2013)
– 4,757,083 (380/km2 [980/sq
mi])
• Government
– (State government agencies)
– 38 LGA(s)
• Established: c. 43 AD
• Area
– 606.95 sq mi (1,572.00 km2)
• Population (2013)
– 8,416,535 (13,870/sq mi
[5,354/km2])
• Government
– Mayor (Boris Johnson)
– London Assembly (25
Members)
– 32 London Boroughs

4. Outline
• Urban governance and urban development
• London in the UK
• London – a global city
• Socioeconomic and spatial change in London
• Governing London
• Planning London
• Urban governance and urban development

5. Urban governance and urban development

6. Urban governance and urban development
• Interdependencies and externalities alongside
fragmentation of jurisdictions + mismatch in scale
of need and scale of governance = “ungovernable
metropolis” (e.g. Storper)
• Financial and fiscal strains (e.g. Streeck, Blyth)
• “Democratic distemper” (e.g. The Economist,
Crouch)
• What difference does a metro mayor make?
See: Michael Storper (2013) “Governing the large metropolis”, Working Papers du Programme Cities are back on town,
2013/7. Paris: Sciences Po; W Streeck and A Schafer (2013) Politics in the Age of Austerity. Cambridge: Polity; M Blyth
(2013) Austerity. Oxford: OUP; The Economist, “What’s gone wrong with democracy?”, 21 March 2013; Colin Crouch
(2004) Post-democracy, Cambridge: Polity.

7. London in the UK
Source: http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/12/vince-cable-london-is-becoming-a-kind-of-giant-suction-machine/

9. In England administration has remained with
fair constancy at Westminster, near enough
to the centre of the country. Wealth has
always come into England by the Thames at
London. At any rate in later centuries, the
tendency has been for the Administration to
settle near the centres of wealth and the
combined attractions have made the tract of
marsh and flat ground in the lower basin of
the river the centre of the Arts, of the
Industries, of the Recreations and of the
moral ‘tone’, not for England alone but for
wider regions of the earth
- Ford Madox Ford (1905) The Soul of
London. JM Dent
London in the UK

10. -26.0
-21.0
-16.0
-11.0
-6.0
-1.0
4.0
9.0
14.0
19.0
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
%deviationfromUKrealGVAp.h.
WAL NE NI YH NW WM EM SW SCOT GSE GSE 20.7%
SCOT -4.5%
SW -5.5%
EM -6.8%
WM -10.5%
NW -12.4%
YH -12.6%
NI -19.4%
NE -20.9%
WAL -22.0%
UK=0
Relative (headline) GVA per head, 1968-2005, UK regions
Source: Author’s elaboration of ONS data

11. Source: The Economist, 9.11.13Source: The Economist, 22.3.14

12. Source: Savills Spotlight Prime Regional Residential Markets Spring 2014

13. Commuting patterns in the London/
South East England Mega-City-Region
Source: GaWC Research Bulletin 307

14. London – a global city
Niels Møller Lund, The Heart of the Empire, 1904, Oil on canvas, 137 x 183 cm, Collection: City of London Corporation

15. London – a global city
The Global Financial Centres Index September 2012
Source: Qatar Financial Centre Authority/Long Finance
(http://www.longfinance.net/Publications/GFCI%2012.pdf)

16. London – a global city
Source: Financial Times, 17.1.14

17. Source: The Guardian, 23.7.14
London – a global city

18. Socioeconomic and spatial change in London
• Demographic shifts
• Socio-spatial polarisation
• Austerity

19. Source:
Mayor of London
Socioeconomic and spatial change in London

20. Socioeconomic and spatial change in London

21. Source: Mayor of London
Socioeconomic and spatial change in London

22. Socioeconomic and spatial change in London

24. Governing London

25. Governing London
• The problem
• History
• Who runs London?
• The GLA Group
• Mayoral Strategies

26. Governing London: the problem
• Choosing the most appropriate governmental
framework of London has always been problematic
“Governing London is a complex business. The city's vast population,
its geography and history conspire to make the British capital an
unusually difficult place to govern… The regularity with which
London's government is reorganised suggests there is something
unusual about the pressures that affect successive systems” (Travers
2004).
• Reforms often reflect power plays between different
economic and political actors as the search for
solutions to agreed problems

27. Source: Ford Madox Brown, Work, 1865,
Oil on canva, Manchester City Art Gallery
Sir Joseph William Bazalgette (1819 -
1891), standing top right, views the
Northern Outfall sewer being built
below the Abbey Mills pumping
station. Photo: Otto Herschan, 1869

28. Governing London: history
London County Council (LCC) (1888 – 1964)
Greater London Council (GLC) (1964 – 1986)
No strategic regional governance
Greater London Authority (GLA) (2000 – )

29. Governing London: LCC

30. Governing London: the Boroughs

31. The crowd at County Hall, June 10 1984

32. Yes: 72%
No: 28%
Turnout: 34%
Governing London: Greater London Authority
referendum, 1998
Are you in favour of
the Government's
proposals for a
Greater London
Authority, made up
of an elected mayor
and a separately
elected assembly?
Results by Borough

33. Governing London: Who Runs London?
GLA
• Strategic
Authority
• Elected Mayor
• London
Assembly
• 600+ paid
officers
Mayor
• Promotes
economic,
social &
environmental
development
• Prepares plans
& policies for
sustainable
development
Assembly
• 25 elected
members (11
city wide & 14
constituencies)
• Overview &
scrutiny
function
Boroughs
• 32 boroughs &
City of London
• Responsible for
running local
public services
• Local planning
authorities
Central
Government
• Provides
funding to
Mayor, TfL and
boroughs
• Sets legislative
& regulatory
framework

34. Governing London: the GLA Group (2000 –
2010)
Greater
London
Authority
London
Development
Agency
Transport for
London
London Fire
and
Emergency
Planning
Authority
Metropolitan
Police
Authority
Olympic
Delivery
Authority

35. Governing London: Sponsored Bodies (Pre
2010)
London
Climate
Change
Agency
Design
for
London
Think
London
Visit
London
Study
London
LESB

36. Governing London: The GLA Group (Post
2010)
Greater
London
Authority
London Legacy
Development
Agency/Mayoral
Development
Agency
Transport for
London
London Fire and
Emergency
Planning
Authority
Mayor’s Office
for Policing and
Crime

37. Governing London: Sponsored Bodies (Post
2010)
London and
Partners
London
Enterprise
Panel

38. Planning London: a longstanding concern

39. Planning London: division of responsibilities
Mayor
Boroughs
Assembly
• Sets strategic
planning
framework
(London Plan)
• Determines
compliance with
London Plan
• Right to direct
refusal or
determine
strategic
applications
• Boroughs are
Local Planning
Authorities
• Prepare Local
Development
Frameworks for
area
• Required to
consult Mayor
on strategic
applications and
LDF documents
• Scrutiny function
• Standing
Planning and
Housing
committee
• Undertakes
targeted reviews
and investigations
• Publishes advice
and
recommendations

40. Planning London: the London Plan
• A long term plan for London?
• Politics and plan-making
– Livingstone, Johnson
• Strategy and delivery
• Innovation and success?

41. Planning London: the London Plan
• Intended to provide a strategic framework for the long
term sustainable growth of London
• However, 3 versions in 12 years and numerous draft
and replacement policies
• “All strategy and no action”?
• Heavily influenced by political leadership and national
policy environment
• ‘Personalised planning’

42. Planning London: do mayors matter?

43. Planning London: do mayors matter?
Livingstone Plan
• Central ‘World City’ vision with
London as driver of national
economy
• Makes case for additional national
investment
• Strong focus on sustainable
development
• Polycentric development with
identified ‘opportunity areas’
• Looks east – particularly to the
Thames Gateway as growth area
• Prescriptive policies and guidance
to boroughs
Johnson Plan
• ‘World City’ narrative less central
and vision more dispersed and less
strategic
• Recognises importance of
sustainability but gentler language
• More focus on less defined notions
of ‘quality of life’ and the experience
of London
• Less prescriptive, more
collaborative approach giving
boroughs flexibility to interpret
• Concerns that flexibility on targets
and sustainability make it a ‘charter
for money-hungry developers’
See: Holman (2010): The Changing Nature of the London Plan
Source: Holman, N (2010) The changing nature of the London Plan In: Scanlon, Kath and Kochan, Ben, (eds.) London: coping with
austerity. LSE London, London School of Economics

44. Planning London: key issues
1. Housing
2. Transport and infrastructure
3. “Regeneration”
4. Economic performance
5. London Infrastructure Plan

45. Housing

47. Source: Financial Times, 28.7.1

50. Source: The Economist, 11.1.13

51. Source: The Guardian, 5.7.14

52. Source: Osborne, H (2014) “Poor doors: the segregation of
London's inner-city flat dwellers”, The Guardian, 25.7.14
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/25/poor-doors-
segregation-london-flats
Section 106 and Affordable Housing “Poor Doors”
Source: Savills using DCLG data and HSSA data

54. Transport

55. Source: Transport for London

56. Source: The Economist, 19.10.12

57. Passenger journeys on local bus services since 1985/86
Source: Department for Transport data in IPPR (2014) Greasing The Wheels Getting Our Bus And Rail
Markets On The Move (http://www.ippr.org/assets/media/publications/pdf/greasing-the-wheels_Aug2014.pdf)

58. Sources: TfL; Crossrail

59. Source: Financial Times, 28.10.13

60. The impact of the arrival on Crossrail on
central London commercial property prices
Average Price per Square
Foot
%
uplift
Average Price per Square
Foot
%
uplift
Before
Crossrail
Bill 2005
After
Crossrail Bill
2005
Before
Crossrail
Construction
2009
After
Crossrail
Construction
2009
Within half
mile
£471.96 £725.69 54% £594.92 £741.33 25%
Outside half
mile
£447.95 £621.57 39% £533.09 £626.92 18%
Difference £24.01 £104.12 15% £61.83 £114.40 7%
Source: R Thompson (2014) The Crossrail Effect. The Impact of the Arrival on Crossrail on Central London Commercial
Property Prices (http://londonfirst.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/LF_CROSSRAIL2_REPORT_2014_Single_Pages.pdf)

61. TFL Crossrail levy receipts 2013/14
Source: Planning, 14.2.14

62. Crossrail 2 opportunities for development
Source: TfL

65. Economy

66. Source: LSE Cities
Randstad
London
Amsterdam
Hague
Rotterdam
Utrecht

67. Source: Centre for Cities/McKinsey (2014) Industrial
revolutions: capturing the growth potential.
(http://www.centreforcities.org/assets/files/2014/14-
06-26-Final-web-Industrial-Revolutions.pdf)

70. Source: Centre for
Cities/McKinsey (2014) Industrial
revolutions: capturing the growth
potential.
(http://www.centreforcities.org/as
sets/files/2014/14-06-26-Final-
web-Industrial-Revolutions.pdf)

71. Regeneration

72. Source: The Economist, 17.2.14

73. Source: Financial Times, 6.5.13

74. Source: Financial Times, 24.7.13

75. Source: https://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/business-economy/vision-and-strategy/infrastructure-plan-2050
London Infrastructure Plan

76. Projected capital
expenditure requirement
by sector (including
enhancements and
renewals), 2016-2050
(£ billion). 2014 prices
Source: Arup/GLA The cost of
London's long-term infrastructure.
July 2014.
(https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/defa
ult/files/The%20cost%20of%20Londo
n%27s%20long-
term%20infrastructure%20by%20Aru
p.pdf)

77. Urban governance and urban development
• Global cities as national champions?
– An imbalanced national political economy?
• Mismatched planning institutions?
– London versus the mega-region
• Public investment and private returns?
– What price inequality and liveability?
• Do Mayors make a difference?
– Thin narrow conception of democracy?

78. Global cities as national champions?

79. Politicians often lament the divide between the rich south and the
poor north of England. They are being sloppy. What is really
happening is that a few cities are pulling ahead of the rest of the
country. They are indeed like vacuum cleaners, sucking in
talented people, highly paid jobs, government investment and,
lately, power.
London has achieved all this without being especially well run.
This is no slight to Boris Johnson, the city’s ambitious mayor; he
simply does not have much power. London’s 33 boroughs
collectively have greater heft, but even they do not have much. The
most important decisions about London are made by the national
government in Westminster.
Scarce resources should go where they will generate the
greatest returns. Trying to resist the agglomeration effects of big
cities is not just a waste: it is actively harmful to Britain’s economy.
Source: The Economist , 9.11.13

80. Source: Pickford, J (2014) “Recovery likely to widen wealth gap between London and regions”, Financial Times, 19th January

81. London poverty was
already becoming more
suburban and more
diffuse even as income
inequality in the city rose
[during the 2000s]
- Centre for Analysis for Social
Exclusion (2012) (
Source:
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsan
dpolicy/poverty-housing-
london-fenton/

82. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2012/aug/01/boris-johnson-stuck-zip-wire-video
It was the best of times, it was the
worst of times, it was the age of
wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief, it was the
epoch of incredulity, it was the season
of Light, it was the season of
Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it
was the winter of despair, we had
everything before us, we had nothing
before us, we were all going direct to
Heaven, we were all going direct the
other way
- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two
Cities (1859)