City of London Bishopsgate Photo - Philip Davies, EH
		Foreword
		London in 2001 is one of the most exciting cities in the world. After years of decline and neglect, the population is rising, and many sectors of the economy are flourishing as never before. But London is also a city of poverty and disadvantage, with congested streets and stretched infrastructure. London’s population is currently around 7.4 million people, and is forecast to rise to 8.1 million over the next 15 years. If London is to meet the needs of its current residents and visitors, let alone a growing population, we must act now to shore up the city’s prosperity, and make London work for all its inhabitants. This means better quality architecture and urban design, housing that mirrors the changes in our lifestyles and keeps key workers in the city, a public realm that can make citizens of our residents, and transport systems that can provide the mobility we need, without clogging our streets and our lungs. The return of elected government to London offers the opportunity to meet these challenges, and to create a city that shows what the urban renaissance can deliver. I have accepted the Mayor’s invitation to join the Greater London Authority, as his Chief Advisor on Architecture and Urbanism, in order to make sure that architecture and urban design plays its part in revitalising London, and making it a beautiful and humanistic world city. My role will be to work in partnership with public, private and voluntary sectors to show what can be achieved if good design becomes integral to a city’s development. This is not a role I can perform alone. If cities are to become more liveable environments, all those involved in the creation and maintenance of the built environment need to contribute their skills, experience and creativity in a truly open and multi-disciplinary style of working. It is for this reason that I welcome Design for a Greater London, and hope that the aspirations it expresses will be mirrored by concerted action from day-to-day, to make London into the city that it can – and should – become. Richard Rogers Chief Advisor to the Mayor on Architecture and Urbanism