By Clare Delmar, MBCG Core Group
During the summer I wrote, anecdotally, about the changes we were collectively and individually adapting to as Covid19 spread and life under lockdown became the new normal. I suggested then that this experience probably merited a reset in the evaluation of the planning proposals for the Stag Brewery.
This led to some further thoughts on specific aspects of our collective experience, such as working from home access to outdoor spaces for exercise and social engagement, social distancing and a renewed focus on public health. We all saw stories about residents of tower blocks across London with limited access to fresh air and green space during lockdown, and thought two things: aren’t we lucky to have the low density and green space here in Mortlake, and wouldn’t life in tower blocks with limited access to these things be awful – and unhealthy? Surely the plans now called in by the Mayor are outdated, not taking into consideration the impact now and in future of COvid19?
But astonishingly Covid19 doesn’t appear to be a factor in the GLA decision making process, despite more and more evidence, innovation and consensus on what lessons from Covid19 we should onboard for planning and futureproofing our cities and local communities.
New thinking on post-Covid cities abounds and is growing by the day, advanced by organisations on the international stage such as the WHO, OECD and UN as well as local think tanks such as the Centre for London, CreateStreets and Centre for Cities.
A collective approach and evidence base for urban development schemes in the post-Covid era is emerging.
By far the most prevalent and powerful observations are around outdoor access – to maintain social distancing, to pursue exercise, to access light and sunshine to absorb vitamin D. and to promote good mental health – and the importance of community input to decision-making. Here are a few examples:
- The importance of public spaces: in its Healthy Cities conference held recently, academic journal Cities and Health presented research on the impact of Covid19 on public spaces, focusing on how restrictions in access to public spaces impacted health and wellbeing.
- Redefining placemaking: a consensus is emerging that city leaders will need to create and adapt public environments and infrastructures to be liveable, safe, agile and adaptable. “Tactical urbanism” –short-term, low-cost, and scalable interventions– can play a big role in shaping and implementing projects. Likewise, community involvement is essential as it allows for the acquisition of local knowledge while ensuring public compliance with policy decisions.
- How to add green spaces: another evolving view on green spaces is the importance of their interconnectedness – while acknowledging that green spaces have positive effects on mental health, physical fitnessand social cohesion, some researchers believe the concentrated use of green spaces will increase the transmission of COVID-19, and call for an ecosystem approach to integrating green spaces into urban life.
- Planning for physical and mental well-being: many in the design community have long acknowledged the connection between design and health but Covid19 has instigated a rethink on how this connection is best integrated in policy. They call for a renewed “planning-health dialogue” involving multidisciplinary participants.
- The benefits of balconies: whereas cities and developers might have once only seen balconies as an amenity to raise market value, the pandemic has shown that they serve greater purposes, including social connection, community resilience and access to sunlight and Vitamin D.
- The role of local communities in decision-making: in October, the UN organised a global initiative around World Cities, with a particular focus on inclusion and collaboration between leaders and local communities is driving cities forward in the post-Covid era. One of the organisers emphasised the role of localities in urban decision-making:
“to improve societal and environmental resilience, we need to strengthen the civic capacity of localities. In short, we need to bring about a significant expansion in the power of place in the modern world”
With the mounting evidence on the health burdens brought by uni-dimensional and high-density planning and, perhaps most importantly, the renewed enthusiasm and innovation for new models of urban design and placemaking, it is disheartening that the Mayor appears so single-minded on the short-term issues of housing numbers and his own re-election. Indeed Mortlake could be a model for London’s post-Covid recovery, embodied in innovative visionary thinking about placemaking, public health and community engagement. Instead we are looking at the imposition of soulless, balcony-less tower blocks, a reduction in public green space and a rejection of community input.
Mortlake – and all of London – deserves better.