Knocking the Corners off the Square Mile

Professor of places and city planning Peter Wynne Rees describes the vision and strategy which transformed the City of London and considers how we reconcile the demands of the property industry with a range of issues in the public interest.

Rising from Roman and medieval streets, London rocketed into the 21st century with an iconic skyline of towering buildings. Former chief planner Professor Peter Wynne Rees describes the transformation and rejuvenation of the City of London following the deregulation of financial services in the mid-eighties. The City of 1985 was a drab business centre, deserted in the evenings and at weekends. In 2014 it has become a vibrant place in which to do business and an attractive destination for leisure and tourism. Three decades of strategic city planning have put the "place" back into "workplace".

Jonathan Schifferes, research lead for the RSA’s City Growth Commission will engage Professor Rees in conversation, asking whether the value created by London’s growth trickles down to residents and out to other parts of the UK - how do we reconcile the demands of the property industry with a range of issues in the public interest?

Speaker: Peter Wynne Rees, professor of places and city planning, The Bartlett,  UCL Faculty of the Built Environment.

Chair: Jonathan Schifferes, senior researcher, RSA and research lead, RSA City Growth Commission.