Location and Importance

• London is the capital city of England with 32 boroughs (examples include Newham or Richmond), positioned on/around the River Thames.

• It is the most productive city in England and is a global financial centre housing the headquarters of many large international + British companies like KPMG (focused around Mayfair, Bank and Canary Wharf).

• London is a world city and is globally connected through business and finance

• Roman London was built on the bank of the Thames and developed into a port however it hasn’t been used as a port since 1981

• It has 4 airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, City, Stanstead) and the 7th busiest in the world being Heathrow

• London produces roughly 25% of the UK’s GDP which is as much as the whole of Turkey’s economy

Population

• Large numbers of young adults (working population) living and working in London both contributing to the economy and having children

• Overall London’s population has experienced an increased over the past 2 centuries with a dip from 1951 to 1981 due to counter-urbanisation

• Counter-Urbanisation contributes to the increasingly youthful population of London

• Birth rates are high in inner city areas because immigration rates are high. This is because most immigrants are of child-bearing age causing population growth rates to rise.

Ways of life in London

• London is the most ethically diverse city in England

• A variety of popular museums and galleries e.g. Tate Modern, Science museum, Tate Britain

• Many iconic attractions which bring a lot of tourists like Big Ben and the London Eye

Richmond = 86.0% economically active full time, 5.9% no qualification

West ham = 74.8% economically active full time, 29.9% no qualification

Challenges

Transport:

• around 3 million people use the London underground train network every day, and millions more use the buses

• with population increase this will put the TFL under considerable strain

Pollution + Waste:

• Air pollution from cars means 2 million Londoners (including 400,000 children and 450 schools) live in areas of pollution above international limits

• A quarter of London’s waster still goes to landfill rather than recycling

Housing:

• The mayor of London’s office has calculated 66,000 new homes are needed each year; recent new building has averaged 20,000 per year

• New homes are either built on ‘brownfield’ sites (old industrial wasteland) or ‘greenfield’ sites (open space on the edge of urban areas)

Solutions

Transport:

• congestion charges are put in place to discourage drivers from entering the city centre

• more bus lanes + suitable cycle paths are being implemented

• more running trains every hour increasing capacity of the TFL

• new railway was built (Elizabeth Line) running from East London to West London

Pollution + Waste:

• the ULEZ is being extended to all boroughs in London (everywhere inside the M25)

• waste collection vehicles designed from an ecological point of view with lower emissions

• already over 10% of Westminster’s collection vehicles are electric

Housing:

• building more genuinely affordable homes

• supporting councils to help the homeless

• evidence from the Mayor of London housing strategy: supporting councils to implement Homelessness reduction act