London: Part 1

1. London’s population and demographic

trends
2. London’s geography and examples of
urban regeneration
3. London’s administrative and political
organization and some of the
challenges facing mayor, Sadiq Khan
 Introduction
Population size and growth
• 8.9 m
• Largest population of any EU city
• UK’s fastest growing area
• Forecast→ 11m by 2050
London’s population by age
• Higher proportion of 25-34 year
olds than the rest of England
• Higher proportion of under-5’s
• Lower proportion of people, 45+
Cultural and ethnic diversity in the
capital
• About 40% are from the ethnic
minorities (BME)

• Less than half of Londoners now

describe themselves as white British
 Ethnic break-down in London
• Asian community is the largest
(Indians, Pakistani, Bangladeshis,
Chinese)

• Concentrated in East and West

London
• Black population concentrated in
South London

• London is home to the largest

Nigerian community in the UK
The mayor Sadiq Khan’s vision for a
« diverse and inclusive city » (2017)
« London’s rich diversity »
« Londoners don’t just tolerate each
other’s differences, they respect,
embrace and celebrate them »
« home to a million EU citizens »
« the advantages of London’s amazing
diversity are clear for all to see »
 What challenges is Khan facing?
• Widening gap between rich and poor
• Rise in hate crimes
• Rise in knife crime
• Growth of radicalisation
• Risk of terror attacks

Recognises that
« More needs to be done to build bridges
between our communities »
Aims to
« build a London that is more inclusive, more
integrated and more equal »
 Tackling ethnic inequalities
• Reducing the ethnicity pay gap (more diverse
recruitment panels, Race at Work Charter,
encourage a more inclusive culture)
• Improve the representation of the ethnic
minorities in the arts
• Improve diversity in the tech sector
• Project for a slavery museum to challenge
racism
 How qualified are Londoners?
• The European city with the highest
concentration graduates (about 60%)

• 70% in inner London West, 60% in inner

London East

• Other European cities: 54% in Oslo, 51% in

Helsinki, 46% in Paris
 In comparison to the rest of
England
• Only 30% of the working population
in the north-east are graduates

• Just under 50% of the whole working

age population in England are
graduates
How can we explain these figures?

• England, as a whole, has a

relatively high level of graduates
• London’s graduates also come
from other parts of the UK and
other countries
 Contrasts and Inequalities
• Life expectancy for Londoners - above the
national average (+ 82)
+80 for men, +84 for women

• Life expectancy in England

79,2 for men, 82,9 for women

• But the health and well-being of Londoners

depend on where they live
Salaries in London
• Average salary £35,000 vs. a national
average of £27,000

BUT
15% earn less than London’s Living
Wage (£10.75)
→ « working poor »,
 2. London’s geography
• London (incl. Greater
London)

= 32 London boroughs + the

City of London
 A city full of contrasts
West End
 Docklands
Docklands
The City Hampstead
The seat of British government is
located in London

• PM at 10 Downing Street

• Government departments in
Whitehall

• Parliament at Westminster
Houses of Parliament
10, Downing Street
• The European City with the most green
spaces (8 Royal Parks)
1. Inner London
- Camden, Greenwich, Hackney,
Hammersmith, Fulham,
Islington etc
2. Outer London
- Bromley, Croydon, Brent etc
London Boroughs
 London’s demography and the
process of gentrification
• Definition of gentrification
« The arrival of newcomers who are
wealthier than those already living in
the area »
- Urban renovation and renaissance
- Working class areas taken over by
middle classes
 Impact
• Rise in house prices
• First-time buyers and low-income
earners priced out
• Types of shops and services
change
• Eg: Islington, Camden, Notting
Hill, Docklands, Hackney
Notting Hill’s Portland Road, 1930s
And today!
 Notting Hill’s gentrification
Slums
↓
Arrival of the middle-classes
↓
Super-rich → poor are displaced
 Hackney’s gentrification
What is the attraction?
- Lower prices
- Proximity to the City and to Silicon Roundabout
→ increase in white, middle-classes

Impact?
- Shops and services to cater for middle-classes
- Increase in demand for housing
- Rise in property prices
- Social divide between old and new residents.
The gentrification of Shoreditch
• Tech and digital hub

So, gentrification also brings

• Regeneration
• New jobs
• Increase in wages
Examples of regeneration projects in
London
Docklands
• 1981, renovated (London Docklands
Development Corporation)
• Became an entreprise zone
→important financial centre, media groups,
luxury flats etc

But, socially damaging consequences

The Docklands today
 Benefits of the 2012 Olympics
Immediate benefits for London
• Jobs
• Prestige
• Tourism
• Regeneration of a deprived area
• Good for business
 The Olympic Legacy – 7 years on
• Sports facilities, new urban park and new
homes built
• Improved rail network
• The University of East London
• Westfield Stratford City shopping Centre
• Crossrail 1
• Stratford - a centre for business, shopping,
leisure and tourism and for digital and media
companies
• Taking local boroughs out of povert
The East End (Stratford) before the
Olympics
And after
The Olympic Village and
« Queen Elizabeth Park »
New housing in the Olympic Village
3. Adminstrative organization and
challenges facing Sadiq Khan
• London Boroughs for Greater London

• London Mayor and London Assembly

for central London (25 members)

• Mayor responsible for transport,

planning, police and fire services
• Role of mayor created in 2000

• New mayor elected 2016: Sadiq

Khan
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London
• Human rights lawyer
• Labour MP
• First Muslim MP in London
• First Asian and Muslim to sit
in Cabinet
 His vision for London
“My vision for London is simple - I
want all Londoners to have the same
opportunities that our city gave me: a
home they can afford, a highly-skilled
job with decent pay, an affordable
and modern transport system and a
safe, clean and healthy
environment”.
 Khan’s manifesto on
« Business, Prosperity and
Opportunity »
Khan’s main argument:

Londoners’ well-being and prosperity are

dependent on each other (need for
affordable housing, childcare, affordable
transport, solve the skills shortage)
 Khan’s priorities
• How to tackle the housing crisis
- More affordable and social housing
- New homes for public sector workers
on public sector land
- New homes in relation to new
infrastructure projects
• Social Mobility

Set up Skills for Londoners and a

tech talent pipeline
 How to solve the problem of knife
crime in the capital?
• Mayor warns it could take a
generation

• Factors contributing to the rise?

Police budget cuts
Drugs and organised crime
Gang violence
 Tackling air pollution
“a public health emergency” (S. Khan)

Measures?
• Increase in congestion charge to £11.50
• The world’s first Ultra Low Emission
Zone (ULEZ) since April 2019
→ stricter emission standards for most
polluting vehicles
→ if vehicle not compliant you pay £12.50
on top of the congestion charge