In response to Sadiq Khan’s pledge to establish a Public Space Charter, two evening discussions at the Garden Museum ask what kind of spaces London should be creating to foster its public life by both day and night.
The arrival of the night tube has reinvigorated debate over how the city’s urban realm should respond to darkness. The GLA says London wants a holistic night-time economy, yet public parks and pedestrian routes continue to close after dusk. The vibrant life of public spaces we enjoy by day is often deemed threatening and disruptive by night? Is civicness incompatible with darkness? Would more street lighting reassure nervous pedestrians or further sever Londoners from the solar cycle? Can London’s club culture survive the influx of luxury housing? In this panel discussion leading architects, writers and campaigners present their vision of life in the capital, lived round the clock.
Speakers include:
Phil Coffey (Coffey Architects)
Deborah Saunt (DSDHA)
Cat Rossi (University of Kingston)
John McRae (ORMS)
Chaired by Travis Elborough
Public London
Public London is programmed by the Architecture Foundation in partnership with The Garden Museum and supported by the European Prize for Urban Public Space. Nominations are currently being sought for the 2018 award of the Prize. For full details of how to apply, visit www.publicspace.org