Just Space Half-day Conference (in honour of Michael Edwards): Prepare your submission on the draft new London Plan — SIGN UP TO ATTEND
We are bringing community groups and others together to respond to the Mayor’s Draft London Plan, which is out for consultation (deadline 15 October 5pm). The event is designed so that groups can prepare draft responses, with guidance on format and details, and share knowledge.
We will open the day by remembering the late, much loved, Professor Michael Edwards, who helped build and sustain Just Space from the start.
As before, there are urgent concerns about the Plan – which sets the terms for planning across every borough for years to come – especially its proposals on equalities, open space, housing targets, tall buildings, the environment and data centres.
Whether you have been part of Just Space for years or are new to the London Plan, you are warmly welcome. You do not need to arrive with a submission drafted: the aim is that you bring your own knowledge and lived experience to the table and leave knowing how to make a submission.
Conference Venue: The Cruciform Building, Gower Street, WC1E 6BT in Lecture Theatre 1, basement level. Time: 9.30am for 10.00 start until 2.00pm with lunch.
1 April at 5pm. Free Webinar: Planning Inquiries and Judicial Reviews: a webinar for community groups. Community Planning Alliance. No booking, Just click on the link here when the even is starting https://www.communityplanningalliance.org/events-calendar.html
Just Space members meeting 27 March, half on new constitution for Just Space and half on preparations for the next London Plan – on housing and all the other issues. at 31 Leigh Street WC1H 9 EP 6-8pm
University of East London’s Housing Knowledge Exchange Unit holds the first of 3 seminars online on Wednesday 5th March 2025 at 1. – to 2.30 and will explore the role that community-led housing can play. Details and free booking at Eventbrite here.
5 February 2025 Next meeting of London Land Justice. If you want the notes from October’s meeting or to register for February’s please email Bonnie: bonnievsh@gmail.com
30 & 31 August & 1 September Housing Justice Assembly is happening again! Pelican House, Bethnal Green. Save the date for the late summer edition of tenants union exchanges, empowering workshops, movement building and good times!This year we want to get more of LRU’s membership involved
July 21st 2024 Land Justice Campaign event in Myatt’s Field Park, Camberwell. Follow up to come as well.
17 July 1800-2000h Just Space members’ meeting at 31 Leigh Street, WC1 WC1H 9EP between St Pancras and Russell Square tube stations. Non-members welcome too. (Note change of venue since original announcement.)
The People’s Land Policy project is organising a series of three seminars around the issue of land, communities and the ecological crisis, on 28 July, August 4 and a later date in August. These are listed together, AFTER the next item.
On Wednesday 5 August, at 2 pm, London Tenants Federation and Just Space are organising a Zoom meeting for tenants and leaseholders of estates that are facing estate regeneration / demolition of their homes. This meeting follows the launch of a website Estate Watch that provides research and resources on estate regeneration / demolition of council housing, a collaboration with Professor Loretta Lees of Leicester University. The meeting will provide an opportunity for tenants and leaseholders in this situation to share and exchange and consider ongoing mutual support and effective working together. Free but it is essential to book to get the link:
The People’s Land Policy project is organising a series of three seminars around the issue of land, communities and the ecological crisis, on 28 July, August 4 and a later date in August. These seminars will explore an understanding of the national context of land use and management in the UK, as well as local Scottish case studies that demonstrate how rethinking land management can empower local communities and deliver climate justice. We also appreciate that the UK is embedded in an international context in respect to land, due to its history as a colonial power, and its role in driving international demand for extracted resources. Our final seminar will explore extractive mining internationally and the relationship of the UK to international land injustice, and how policy changes at home can help communities abroad.
July 28th Tuesday at 7 pm. Seminar One: Climate change and the ecological crisis: land use in the UK led by a speaker from Friends of the Earth who will address the question of what land use changes are necessary in the UK in order to deal with the threats to our environment. He will highlight the problems created by the fragmentation and despoliation of urban, suburban and rural land, which have been fuelled by hyper-mobility, urbanisation and poor land use practices. He will examine how harmful agricultural and forestry practices have contributed to the degradation of the environment. This session will give us the ideas to help develop an effective strategy for change. Sign up at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/land-communities-and-the-ecological-crisis-tickets-113441797470 For more info: https://peopleslandpolicy.home.blog/
August 4th: Protecting wild land and empowering communities through land management: lessons from Scotland led by Mike Daniels, the head of policy and land management of the John Muir Trust (JMT). The JMT is based in Scotland and has purchased a number of key properties which it manages with the aim of conserving and promoting wild land. However, their unique approach is founded within engagement in partnerships with other organisations, addressing policy on issues such as wind farms and land reform, while working closely with communities to ensure that conservation efforts enhance rather than alienate communities. Mike will focus on two developing projects: Langholm Estate in southern Scotland where the community is working on buying this former grouse moor with the aim of managing it for conservation and rewilding. He will also discuss the Yeearnstane project close to Glasgow which involves large urban communities fringing a wild land area.
This session will give us some inspiration of what could be done if we owned and controlled land.
August 11th or 18th- to be confirmed. Exporting the problem: international mining and its colonial legacy. This seminar will be led by speakers from the London Mining Network and their partners, including speakers from Yes to Life, No to Mines and the Anti-Coal Network. We will examine how global mining corporations devastate the environment and the health and well-being of local communities. We will also consider how this relates to the UK. Not only is mining still an issue in this country, for example through fracking, but the UK has effectively exported many of the problems mining brings to other countries. Communities in the global south have to deal with the ecological, health and social consequences of a brutal mining industry, many of these mining corporations being based in the UK. This session will place our struggle for land rights firmly in the international context, facilitating a movement for land rights that challenges the colonial legacy and is based on solidarity.
September 8 and 9 2020: Planning Research Conference of all the planning schools in the British Isles, hosted this year at The Bartlett, UCL (online). Community participants are warmly welcomed in any/all of the sessions: we are, after all, among the main people who depend on university research and on the people educated to be planners. Free but booking (and programme) at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/planning-research-conference-2020-tickets-118516834041. Do take care to click within the eventbrite page for the conference guide. This PDF has full details of the events including 2 Monday evening events – with separate links not covered by the Tuesday/Wednesday access links.
Land and Food: Social Justice and Ecological Responsibility The People’s Land Policy is holding a series of four seminars in which we will hear from speakers and discuss what needs to be done in order to achieve a food and agricultural system which produces healthy food for all as well as facilitates environmental objectives such as reducing CO2 emissions and increasing biodiversity. With Brexit and the new Agricultural Act, it is crucial that we all understand the issues. Food is a basic necessity, with many people not having food security. And agriculture takes up over 70% of land in the UK. For these reasons, how we organise agricultural production affects us all and is interlinked closely with environmental and social issues. The seminars are: February 9th 2021: 7 pmPost-Brexit Agriculture: What are the implications for farmers, food justice and the environment? Register: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/seminar-series-land-and-food-social-justice-and-ecological-responsibility-tickets-135663183233 February 23th: 7 pm Land and Agriculture in the UK Register: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/land-and-farming-in-the-uk-second-seminar-in-land-and-food-series-tickets-136147166841 March 9th: 7pm Urban growing and peri-urban farming March 23rd: 7 pm UK’s Role in the Global Food Justice Movement For full details see the Eventbrite links and website: peopleslandpolicy.org
Housing Action Day 27/28 March 2021 by the European Coalition for Rights to Housing and the City is coordinating actions across the continent. https://housingnotprofit.org/housing-action-day/Cancelled
March 29 workshop at 8PM hosted by AltonAction, to share knowledge about the London Mayor’s policies on housing, environment, estate regeneration and communities. http://ucl.zoom.us/j/97672282303
21 April G15 big housing associations host a virtual housing debate on 21 April will be chaired by Dave Hill with panellists GarethBaconMP (Con), Sian Berry (green),James Murray (Lab) Dawn_Barnes (LD). Register to attend at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/37609
From 22-25 April 2021, the COP26 Coalition will host From the Ground Up: Taking Action, our second global gathering for climate justice. This will be a four day online gathering with 18 sessions dedicated to some of the key issues facing our movements today.
To emphasize bottom-up planning as part of transition from fossil fuel based economy be part of the Just Transition session session held Friday 23rd, 6.30 – 8.00pm BST.
During this session The New Lucas Plan (UK) in conjunction with Green Jobs Oshawa (Canada) and JustSpace (London, UK) will lead one of the breakout workshops to discuss how transition can be lead from the community and the workplace
Discussion and Q&A format with speakers:
Hilary Wainwright, New Lucas Plan, Red Pepper Magazine editor, author
HEAR the Equalities and Human Rights Network is holding a series of events in the week of 19 – 23 April, culminating in a hustings for mayoral candidates on 23rd at 1600h GMT. Cancelled because of illness.
New date: 28 April 1800-2000h BST Mayoral hustings for community groups. Details at https://www.listentolocals.co.uk/event-details/local-community-hustings-online (to order a (free) ticket click on + beside the 0) moved from earlier date because at least one of the candidates withdrew on account of royal bereavement.
Fostering Borough-wide Alliances of Community Organisations Zoom meeting at 6.30 – 7.45 pm on Wednesday 26th January Zoom link for the meeting (there is no need to register in advance):
We have three lead speakers for the event, all of whom have considerable experience of building and sustaining such alliances or umbrella organisations: Gordon Massey – Federation of Residents Associations in Barnet Kay Garmeson – Ealing Matters Eileen Conn – Southwark Planning Network This is a meeting of the London Forum of Civic and Amenity Societies (members of Just Space, as are two of the three spekers).
People’s Land Policy Making Participatory Democracy a Reality: Building a Movement
Seminar Three: Monday November 22nd 7 pm
This seminar is in many ways the most important of all our seminars. Whether you are involved in environment, food, or housing struggles, the key issue is how to build an effective movement for systemic change.
Thiago Ávila, one of the founders of the Movimento Bene Viver. This is a movement of diverse struggles in Latin America which shows how effective people can be when united.
Kate Swadefrom Shared Assets. Shared Assets has been at the forefront of building a movement for land justice. They helped organise the Land for What conference and have recently undertaken a project on how to build a land justice movement.
Kerima Mohideen from the London Mining Networkwhich works in solidarity with communities harmed or threatened with harm by the activities of large mining companies listed on the London Stock Exchange and its subsidiary, the Alternative Investment Market. LMN is made up of a disparate group of people with different political views and different religious beliefs (and none) who work together in formal and informal networks. We are united by our shared commitment to challenging and calling the mining industry to account, sometimes with a degree of success that takes even us by surprise given how small we are. How do we do this? Come and find out!
People’s Land Policy. 8 November, 1900h. Seminar #2
Speakers: Thiago Ávila and he is one of the founders of the Movimento Bene Viver, Shared Assets, and the London Mining Network
Land Justice: By the People and for the People Monday October 25th: 7 pm
This begins the latest seminar series organised by the People’s Land Policy. If we are to achieve land justice, it is vital that everyone is fully included in decisions about how land is used. Currently, decisions about how land is used and for whose benefit are currently made by those who own and control the land, within the context of market forces. These might be private landowners or government, subject to certain regulation by the planning system. This system does not work for the common good. So how can we ensure that all people are directly involved and that they come together to form an effective movement for land justice?
Speakers: Gabriela Sarmet from Coletivo Decolonial, Calum Green from Involve, and Andy Belfield from Public Works
This seminar will begin with a look at the current method of decision-making: liberal democracy and then introduce the concept of participatory democracy as a contrast. There will be a focus on the theory behind participatory democracy but will use practical examples to explore how PD has been put into practice in its different versions.
We will then consider the Commons as another model of direct decision-making, examining the similarities and differences with PD.
The eventbrite page linked above also outlines the second and third seminars in this series on 8 and 22 November.
Now on release in some cinemas: The Street (on Hoxton Street gentrification) with Q&A afterwards at some screenings. Details of screenings here.
Wednesday 22 January 2020, 6.30 – 8.30pm How can the grid meet the demand for green electricity in a zero-carbon world? Happold Foundation. Registration and Drinks Reception from 6.00pm. Venue: The Building Centre, Store Street, London WC1E 7BT Details and (free) registration at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/city-conversations-gridlocked-tickets-87946043985
Local Authority Housing Provision. April 30th 2 p.m. on zoom. Speakers: Janice Morphet/Ben Clifford Joe Penny https://thelabourcampaignforcouncilhousing.org/2022/04/17/zoo
Tuesday 1 November 2022, 5-6.30 pm UK time at LSE Gentrification and Public Policy: Comparative Perspectives A hybrid event to mark the launch of a new bookThe Commodification Gap: Gentrification and Public Policy in London, Berlin and St. Petersburg by Matthias Bernt. Discussants include Michael Edwards (UCL) and Loretta Lees (Boston). Chaired by Hyun Bang Shin (LSE) http://theurbansalon.com/2022/09/26/gentrification-and-public-policy-comparative-perspectives
September 7 2022, 1400h at City Hall: Meeting of the London Assembly Planning and Regeneration Committe about Covid recovery plans. The agenda is not out yet but the meeting is expected to have contributions both from the Mayor’s Recovery project and from Just Space about the community-led recovery plan. Details will appear online and the meeting can be attended by anyone without booking, online or in person. https://www.london.gov.uk/about-us/londonassembly/meetings/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=441&MId=7224&Ver=4
Wednesday 23 November 1000-1300 at City Hall London Assembly Planning and Regeneration Committee meeting to scrutinise the London legacy Development Corporation LLDC and consider what lessons can be learned. Attend in person or by video. Details and Just Space submissions here.
19th July – 12th August UNION, a black comedy / property developer losing her mind on the Grand Union Canal / community and the ravages of development at the Arcola in Hackney https://www.arcolatheatre.com/whats-on/union Just Space people use discount code: LOCALUNION to save half on tickets. Two post show Q and As (July 26th and 2nd of August, 8.30pm) with London red/green political panel.
19th July – 12th August UNION, a black comedy / property developer losing her mind on the Grand Union Canal / community and the ravages of development at the Arcola in Hackney https://www.arcolatheatre.com/whats-on/union Just Space people use discount code: LOCALUNION to save half on tickets. Two post show Q and As (July 26th and 2nd of August, 8.30pm) with London red/green political panel.
Monday 21st August 2023, 10am-5pmLearning from East End Street Markets1-day conference Hason Raja Centre, Whitechapel E1 Free to attend but booking essential. https://streetmarkets.evenbrite.com/
3 October 2023 1830-2030 The London Society Sir Michael Marmot, Social Justice and Health Equity, at The London Centre Aldermanbury (Guildhall). Not free: £15 and concessions. https://thelondonsociety.wildapricot.org/event-5341245 Chaired by Clare Delmar
2 March 2024 Just Space conference on getting a better London, at Coin Street.
To find earlier events, write EVENTS in the search box and then select the dates you want.
As an informal alliance, Just Space hosts regular meetings, workshops and conferences to share ideas and news about campaigns, and to develop alternative policy.
* We produce publications – the Alternative London Plan for a caring city is the latest.
* We encourage participation in planning consultations, planning inquiries and conferences.
* We give presentations
* We work with local groups on issues such as Local Plans, specific policy development or long-term strategic planning.
* We work with student volunteers and academics on projects of benefit to community groups as well as to student learning.
We are only as strong as our members. Every community has knowledge – share yours and keep in touch by contacting us.
ALTERNATIVE LONDON PLAN FOR A CARING CITY: Just Space groups collaborated on this, published April 2026, driven by the need for a different approach to London’s development. See the Alternative Plan page . Make your own comments as the document is further developed online.
Just Space runs or takes part in a lot of project work, based around helping community groups to make their own plans or contribute meaningfully to Local Plans, and other research work. Some current projects include working with tenant’s groups on planning issues for estates under threat of demolition/’regeneration’, in collaboration with the EstateWatch project (see below).
We are also working with students and communities on: — New approaches to greening the public realm after LTNs and traffic calming is implemented — A project comparing different borough approaches to tall buildings — A project protecting central London’s wholesale food markets (Billingsgate and Smithfield) — An investigation into the urgent need for planning policy on data centres — A project around traditional street retail markets — A project to gather historical community knowledge.
Estate Watch provides help and guidance to residents living on estates listed for demolition. The Estate Watch website – https://estatewatch.london/about/ – is maintained as an open-source project and is being kept up to date by voluntary contributors via its Github interface. The website was developed as a resource for communities on estates facing regeneration, to know their rights and to ensure that tenants and residents’ choices will be respected. The intention is to monitor each scheme as it progresses and make space for residents to add updated information about their estate in real time. This can be a precious tool to hold Councils across London and the Mayor to account and make sure that future regeneration schemes benefit existing local communities.
The project was kickstarted in 2020 by Just Space and The London Tenants Federation working together with the University of Leicester and King’s College London on a research project that has provided detailed evidence since 1997 of the displacement of London council tenants and leaseholders through regeneration schemes. We have recently re-energised the project with a grant from Trust for London and updates gathered by students in the UCL Bartlett Knowledge Exhange..
Recent projects:
Thames Life Community Development Trust in Barking Riverside (within LB Barking & Dagenham) is being supported by Just Space which has provided advice on the new Thames Road Vision and Design Code, a critique of the GLA/Barking and Dagenham Opportunity Area Planning Framework, together with various presentations to public meetings.
Grand Union Alliance –https://grandunionalliance.wixsite.com/grandunionallianceance – is a community network from in and around Old Oak & Park Royal connecting resident, business and community groups from Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing, Brent and Kensington and Chelsea. It is focused on influencing plans for large scale development by the Mayoral Development Corporation OPDC so that they will sustain and enhance existing communities and neighbourhoods. Currently supported by Just Space following the end of grant funding from a UCL international research project.
Fairville is a European collaboration funded by the EU and the UK which enables Just Space and London communities to take part. This contributes to our policy development on tackling poverty and inequality through the caring city, co-production. Details of the whole collaboration are at https://www.fairville-eu.org. Just Space enabled the Fairville (London Lab) to transition into an autonomous body as a Community Interest Company.
The enormous importance of street markets is often not appreciated. They provide the cheapest food, often the freshest food, social engagement among customers and traders and employ a lot of people. But they have been coming under relentless pressure from developers and often from the councils which manage or regulate them. This conference is supported by Just Space and should help those all over London in the defence of their markets.
Learning from East End Street Markets
1-day conference
Date: Monday 21st August 2023, 10am-5pm
Place: Hason Raja Centre, Whitechapel E1
One-day conference learning from the historic East End Street Markets: the threats, the challenges and what community value means today
The post-Covid 19 cost-of-living crisis has shown the importance of street markets for economic resilience in London’s embedded communities, yet East London’s historic street markets are increasingly under threat due to land speculation, changing public policies and shifts in consumer behaviour.
This conference follows on from June 2019’s ‘The Future of London’s Street Markets’ held in Brixton. We will hear from East London’s longest standing market campaign, the Friends of Queen’s Market (Newham) to identify future threats and key issues facing markets in ‘ethnic majority’ areas of London.
The Just Space Network’s Community-led Recovery Plan and the University of Leeds research findings on the community value of street markets(2022) will set the grounds for afternoon workshops, with input from East End campaigners facing pressures from the financial city and hardline gentrification.
Afternoon group workshops will examine the current position of street markets in understanding the historic East End, its diverse communities and evolving landscape, as places that foster community cohesion to address isolation, provide affordable food for healing and wellbeing and examine the threats to market livelihoods today.
BOOKING: Free to attend. Booking essential. Limited places. Book your place through this Eventbrite link: http://streetmarkets.eventbrite.com and there is a video at
UCL: Discussing the social & urban impacts of visitor economies, short lets, vacant spaces, with Dr Claire Colomb & Dr Sonia Freire Trigo, 30 April. See you there! Free but reservebit.ly/2W0pcrQ @UCL_BSP @TheBartlettPhD@BartlettUCL
new London Plan EiP: Just Space/UCL briefings / de-briefings For community organisations, UCL students & staff and anyone else who wants to follow in this way. Put these dates in your diary: 1600-1900h
30 January 25 Gordon Street WC1H 0QB Harrie Massey Lecture Theatre [ Slides ] 20 February Bentham House LG26 Lecture Theatre… 13 March 22 Gordon Street room 601, WC1H 0QB 10 April 22 Gordon Street room G12, WC1H 0QB 17 June after the hearings end 22 Gordon Street room 601, WC1H 0QB This is a change of date and venue! (previously 5 June was planned)
The Just Space web site has rich resources on the EiP including a new page combining the day-by-day programme of topics, the Panel’s questions for debate, the Just Space responses and reports/blogs on recent sessions.
11th of June (4pm-8pm, Gibbs Green Community Hall) Pablo Sendra and Daniel Fitzpatrick from UCL Bartlett Planning will be organising an event with activists and researchers on *Community-led Estate Regeneration* (co-organised with Just Space). Free but please reserve a place https://www.eventbrite.com/e/community-led-social-housing-regeneration-tickets-60476822805
Weekend 29 & 30 June in Brixton The Food Journey, workshops linking Britain’s historical routes to today’s experiences of culture, tastes, health, communities, economics and oppression. £10 per day. reserve on eventbrite (link to follow).
Saturday 20 July 1245-1500 workshop on the Government’s current consultation on proposed reforms of regulation to high-rise residential dwellings in England following the Grenfell Tower disaster. They include mechanisms to put residents at the heart of the new system such as access to building and fire safety information they need or request, and a fast-track route to a new Building Safety Regulator if their safety concerns are not dealt with effectively by building owners or landlords. The aim of this event is to enable residents and campaigners to properly scrutinise and inform the government’s proposals based on their vital lived experience. We also aim to draw together model responses that campaigners can use as the basis of their own responses to the consultation by the deadline of 31 July 2019. A buffet lunch will be provided. Please register – it is free but we need to know who is coming for lunch. Central London. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/proposed-reforms-of-high-rise-safety-after-grenfell-workshop-for-residents-tickets-65506298101
Saturday 7th September 2019 Community Wealth Building Conference Registration 10.30 am for 11 am Start; finish at approx. 3 pm. Botwell Social Centre, Botwell Lane, Hayes Middlesex UB3 2FB. (In the precinct of the ‘Immaculate Heart of Mary Church’). Speakers:
the Hon John McDonnell MP – Shadow Chancellor; Andrew Gwynne MP – Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government; Cllr Matthew Brown – Leader of Preston City Council (Preston Model); Heather Wetzel / Murad Qureshi from the Land Value Tax Campaign; Cllr Ali Milani – PPC for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
“This is part of a series of events where we will look at the impact of austerity on our towns and at the tools and policies we can use to rebuild our local economy. Community wealth-building is a change of our economic system starting at the local level. It is about us coming together in order to take control over some of the most essential aspects of our shared life in our community such as employment, investment, to ensure that the benefits of local growth are invested in our local area and where people and their local institutions can work together on an agenda of shared benefit. I hope you will join us at this event. This is a great opportunity to discuss our vision for a sound economy and community wealth building with other residents, community groups, trade unions and local businesses. Helen Lowder, Hayes Office Manager for John McDonnell MP.
To help with catering and seating please register your place by an email to: helen.hayeslabour@hotmail.com by 5pm, 31st August.”
Wednesday 2 October at LSE, 18.00-19.30 seminar Enhancing green space and biodiversity in London, New Academic Building, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Alumni Theatre, free and no need to book.
Thursday 31 October 1800h at UCL, public lecture on “Foundational Liveability” instead of the pursuit of GDP growth by Karel Williams and Julie Froud (Manchester) Jargon aside, this sounds very stimulating. Talk ends up with Just Space as a great alternative model. Drinks afterwards. Free but reserve a seat
Tuesday 12th November 2019 1730-1900h UCL Bartlett School London Planning Seminar Community-Led Social Housing Regeneration: Between the Formal and the Informal, Dr Pablo Sendra and Dr Daniel Fitzpatrick (BSP, UCL) Location TBC
Wednesday 13 November 1800h in Lambeth: launch of TCPA report: Planning for a Just London. Free but reserve a place.
Wednesday 4th Dec Density – too much too fast? LSE/ New Academic Building/ Alumni Theatre, 18.15 (coffee from 18.00). Open to all without booking. LSE London.
Tuesday 10th December 2019 1730-2000h UCL Bartlett School London Planning Seminar Social Reproduction and the Housing Question in London, Dr David Madden, at UCL Institute of Education 20 Bedford Way Room 739. Free but please reserve a seat.
20 January 2018 Saturday, London Plan consultation event jointly organised by Just Space and GLA, at City Hall. Partners include London Forum, London Tenants Federation, Friends of the Earth and many other city wide and local groups. Free but booking essential at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/london-plan-community-group-consultation-tickets-40918081082 The draft of the new London Plan has been published. More about it and how to get it here. Results of the conference are being posted here.
5 February 2018 Monday, London Plan consultation event with an emphasis on equalities jointly organised by Just Space and GLA, at City Hall. Details: https://hearequality.org.uk or contact JS directnow fully booked
24 February Saturday 1000-1700 Just Space conference of community groups as final chance to formulate comments on the draft new London Plan. Details of the event and all the papers presented are on the lower part of this page.
JustSpace is cooperating with students & striking staff at UCL in a “teach-in” on Wednesday 7th at which a summary of this response to the London Plan will be presented. All Just Space people very welcome. Details at ucljustspace.wordpress.com
Monday, 19 March ‘Participation & representation in urban development’ — talk by Sarah Sackman, Barrister of Francis Taylor Building. Monday, 19 March, 5.15pm, Alumni Theatre (Rm LG.09) New Academic Building of LSE, SW corner of Lincoln’s Inn Field. Free and no booking needed.
Tuesday 27 March afternoon and evening events that justMap and Connecting Londoners are setting up with Matt Scott in Shoreditch, about civic mapping and network building for a fair and inclusive London. This event will bring together a large number of London civic platform makers, data collectors or mappers, as well as community organisers interested in these civic networking tools, to discuss how they can support cooperation between communities, organisations and citizens working for a fair and inclusive London. Please see a paper we are very proud to have published in the Journal of Peer Production that gives some interesting background to this London initiative. Moreover this paper is partly based on Just Space inspiring London network. Here is the link to register on EventBrite.
13 & 14 April conference, Future Homes for London: Alternate Models organised by St Ann’s Redevelopment Trust (StART) and Royal College of Art The objective of this two-day event is to pull apart and question alternate models of affordable and community-led housing projects for the UK. Using global exemplars, this event will ask what, within the context of the UK, is possible? What works and why? Free but must book https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/future-homes-for-london-alternate-models-tickets-44445195777
14 and 15 April Land Justice Network national gathering to celebrate the start of our Week of Action on Land Rights, discuss what the network’s been up to and plot fresh actions together! Walk on Saturday The Landlords’ Game: a tour of London’s land and housing crisis starts 1 pm Brown Hart Gardens Duke Street near Bond Street tube. Meeting on Sunday at FoE offices in Stockwell 1200 Details at https://www.facebook.com/events/169320923865119
Monday 23 April 1830-2000 at LSE Old Building Mariana Mazzucato on her new book The value of everything?My talk will ask what happens to the analysis of ‘rents’ when the underlying theory of value is based on subjective ‘preferences’? Free and no booking needed so be early. Details at http://www.lse.ac.uk/Events/2018/04/20180423t1830vOT/the-value-of-everything
Thursday 26 April 1900-2100 Kennington: launch of report Central Hill: a case study in Urban Regeneration by ASH Architects for Social Housing. Details here.
Wednesdays 9/16/23/30 May. Series of talks and discussions Beyond the Boundary: The way we live now with Aditya Chakrabortty / Lisa McKenzie / Dispossession film / Alison Inman at the Boundary Estate, Shoreditch. Free but must book https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/beyond-the-boundary-16931792658
Sunday 10th June, 18:00-20:00, hosted by 56a Infoshop (Crampton Street, SE17 3AH); as part of Antiuniversity Now 2018. “How can unionisation resist gentrification?”. Informal discussion meeting Architectural Workers will be co-facilitating this with members of United Voices of the World (UVW), and the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB). Let them know if you are coming architecturalworkers@riseup.net
Thursday 19 July at Tate Modern, part of @Tate Exchange. Just Space is organising a seminar to discuss the role of practitioners (academics, students, architects, planners, lawyers and others) in meeting the support needs of grassroots community groups and their networks at a London wide level. Places are limited. If you are an engaged practitioner and would like to contribute/attend, please contact the Just Space Co-ordinator. A briefing note on UCL collaborations with JustSpace is at http://bit.ly/2L4LMy5
Thursday 6 September 1730-2030 free public lecture at UCL by Prof Sarah Bell. Reserve a seat at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/environmental-design/events/2018/sep/professor-sarah-bells-inaugural-lecture-re-engineering-engineering-buildings‘re-engineering engineering: from buildings to communities’ Engineers change the world, but not always for the better. In this lecture, to mark Sarah’s promotion to Professor of Environmental Engineering at UCL, she looks back to her earliest impressions of engineering as a career, and traces how things have changed. Engineering isn’t just building things. Sometimes, doing nothing is the best option. Small engineering might be better than big engineering. Good engineering takes time. Engineering is more effective if it’s done with people, rather than for them. Sarah has changed her mind about engineering, more than once. In this lecture, she hopes you might too. Sarah was a co-founder of the Engineering Exchange which has collaborated closely with Just Space, notably on the relative benefits of refurbishment & demolition of estates.
Friday 7th Sept 2018, 09.30 – 18.00: Community Research Partnerships – Past, Present, Future, at BASE King’s Cross, 103c Camley St, London N1C 4PF. Researchers, professionals and Londoners interested in community-engaged engineering and/or the built environment are invited to this free event, hosted by the Engineering Exchange at UCL. Participants will have the opportunity to gain insight and contribute to discussions on issues related to green infrastructure, air quality, waste infrastructure and community energy. There will also be an opportunity to develop project collaborations between UCL and community groups in London. For the day’s programme, see invitation_community_research_partnerships_event. To register: https://community-research-partnerships.eventbrite.co.uk
Wednesday 12th September 2018 from 5.30pm – 8.00pm, Book Launch Foundational Economy: The infrastructure of everyday life at Southwark Cathedral in the Garry Weston Library. “This is the kind of economics that never makes it onto the City pages, the sort of politics that rarely gets into newspaper columns. Read it”. Aditya Chakrabortty,
“a compelling counter-project against neoliberalism: restoring the collective foundations of everyday life” Wolfgang Streeck. Free but reserve a place at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/book-launch-foundational-economy-the-infrastructure-of-everyday-life-tickets-48589986959
Thursday 27th September at 31 Leigh Street, Cartwright Gardens, London WC1H 9EP 1500h-1730h UCL seminars on engaging research and teaching on urban design with community groups, followed at 1730 by drinks and snacks for opening of an exhibition of this year’s student work. Free but please register at eventbrite for the seminars and for the exhibition here.
Tuesday 2 October Socially-just transport seminar series: How can accessibility instruments foster a sound decision-making process with multiple and diverse stakeholder groups? Dr Benjamin Buttner, München, UCL Central House room G01, 14 Upper Woburn Place WC1H 0NN, Free without booking. 1800h. Timely when the London Plan proposes to scrap the PTAL/density matrix.
5th Oct at Rich Mix Doors open 6.30 for 7. Studio 2. . NO PLACE LIKE HOME As part of its “Roots and Beyond” season, Rich Mix, Bethnal Green, is hosting an exploration of the importance and meanings of “Home”, through words, images and performance. ALL WELCOME. FREE ENTRY https://www.facebook.com/events/244399402934680/
Monday 15 October Memories of Battersea Walking tour 1630-1730 and screening of short films 1730-1930. Spectacle Productions project which gave young adults from Battersea the opportunity to be trained in film-making while producing short films about their neighbourhood, collecting memories from elder Battersea residents, bridging intergenerational gaps and engaging with the history of their borough. More details. All welcome.
SAT 3 NOV 12.00 AT CITY HALL. NO ESTATE DEMOLITIONS WITHOUT A BALLOT OF RESIDENTS! Sadiq Khan has agreed that residents on estates threatened with demolition will have a ballot to find out whether they agree with “regeneration” or not. However, he has denied 36 estates a ballot by signing off the finances. Now these estates, such as Cressingham Gardens, Ebury Bridge, the Aylesbury, plus many others, are demanding a ballot as well. Rally/protest SATURDAY NOVEMBER 3 AT 12.00 NOON AT POTTERS FIELDS / CITY HALL.
Thursday 8 November 2018 17.30 ‘Connecting the two sides of Stratford’ exhibition and discussion By Bengali East End Heritage Society & Loughborough University London, at Here East. Free. Details & Flyer:
26 November Monday 1700h onwards UCL Roberts Building G06 Ambrose Fleming LT Torrington Place WC1E 7JE opposite Waterstones bookshop
1700h-1800 background briefing for beginners / people new to the process coffee/tea in foyer 1700-1800 (note changed time) 1800h onwards topic-based presentations and discussion: Spatial Development issues including high streets, centres, Opportunity Areas, poly-centric London
5 December Wednesday 1500h onwards 25 Gordon Street room E28 Harrie Massey LT 1500-1600 background briefing for beginners / people new to the process (essentially a repeat of 26 Nov briefing) possibly coffee/tea. There is anyway a cafe on the ground floor. 1600 – 1800 topic-based presentations and discussions, mainly housing and related topics suggested. (The topic suggestions have been guided by matters likely to come up in the first block of EiP sessions.)
Then from January onwards we plan to have observers at all the EiP sessions, taking notes and helping to prepare blogs/reports on what’s happening. This will be great and could involve a large number of students committing to report on just one day (or could be more). There will be briefing sessions for community groups and others at UCL in the weeks when the EiP is not in session. Just Space is grateful to the UCL Bartlett School of Planning for supporting this series of events.
30 November. The Up the Elephant Campaign in support of the traders and for more social rented housing at the Elephant is holding a Campaign Party this coming Friday 30 Nov– a night of of Latin beats with DJ Gloria (Exilio) to raise funds to pursue a legal challenge to Southwark Council’s granting of planning permission for the shopping centre scheme – further details and tickets available here.
This page is an archive of the events listing from September 2016 to the end of 2017.
Sunday September 4 2016 The Olympic Park Jude Rosen and Julian Cheyne E15 1AZ Everything you wanted to know about the Olympic Park and never dared to ask
Meet 2.30 @ forecourt Stratford Station, level of bus station. You will experience a different story of regeneration, the Olympics and ‘the legacy’ on the route: which goes from Stratford old town, passes International station, the new school, Chobham Manor – the site of former Clays Lane; the Velodrome; Eton Manor; former Manor Garden allotments; pit-stop Timber Lodge café; ‘largest new park in Western Europe’; Media Centre; RUN; Mandeville Place, view Hackney Wick; Olympic stadium; the Orbit, International Quarter –ending at Stratford City. Poems from the collection – Reclamations – will be performed on the way to bring in forgotten voices, histories, moments of transformation and alternative which are also present in the landscape. Booking essential on Eventbrite here (£0-7)
Monday 17 October 1000-1300h London Assembly Planning Committee – at City Hall. Change of plan: the agenda now concentrates on the London Infrastructure Plan 2050.This is an important document – and because it is not a statutory one it does not have formal public hearings. Just Space was very critical of the document at draft stage: our comments here. | Link to agenda and papers here.
It is at the Mayor’s Question Time on Wednesday 19th October at 10 am that we are are now seeking to show a wider presence with the Reclaim Our Spaces coalition. Just Space hopes people will be able to attend as part of our mobilisation for more meaningful and effective participation in London planning and in fact all the Mayor’s Strategies.
Friday 21st October 3.30 pm at City Hall, London Finance Commission has been reconvened by Mayor Sadiq Khan to look at the devolution of powers to London. Just Space has been invited to send a representattive to an oral evidence session “for London’s communities” 21st October is also the deadline for written evidence. More on the LFC is here.
Saturday 22nd October 1.30 – 3.30 pm Switched on London event with new Deputy Mayor for Environment Myatts Field Centre, 24 Crawshay Road, Lambeth, London SW9 6FZ More details www.switchedonlondon.org Mayor Sadiq Khan pledged to support a new public energy company. . This event brings together the New Deputy Mayor for Environment Shirley Rodrigues and GLA energy policy officers to hear how this is progressing and to discuss London’s energy future.
Friday 28 October 1400-1600h JustMap collective working session with Reclaim Our Spaces. JustMap is an ongoing collaborative map that we are developing to highlight communities’ assets and projects, while connecting actors campaigning for a fairer London. A large range of skills is necessary for this collective project : community engagement, planning, mapping, programming, web design, social networks, graphic design, playful engagement … and much more !| Link to JustMap blog | Link to agenda meeting Free but booking essential.
15 November. We have met with Nicky Gavron, Deputy Chair of the London Assembly Planning Committee who encouraged us to make a visible Just Space presence at the Planning Committee. The main item in October was to have been a draft of Towards the next London Plan with a Panel made up of the Mayor’s team. The Planning Committee meeting following this in November was to take contributions from stakeholders and experts. The programme slipped and the document, renamed A city for all Londoners, was published in late October and will be discussed by the committee on 15 November. We want to influence this by turning up at meetings to show we are large in number, diverse in the community interests we cover and ready to engage. We will give out copies of our proposals.
12 & 13 November 2016 Land for What? JustSpace is co-organising a “convergence” in London. Preparations at landforwhat.org.uk and please reserve a (free) place.
Day one:
1. What in land is important in our struggles? Workshops on housing, food, community spaces, public space and the environment.
2. Two sets of workshops including, land the basics, history of land in Britain, lessons from abroad, land economics, practical applications.
Day 2.
Mostly taken up with what we can do short-term and long-term and how we can work together to get land reform that will benefit all the different campaigns. See our link page for more info.
Monday 14th November, 16:00-18:00 Socially Just Transport seminar in UCL main building Chadwick 2.18 and the presenters joining us this time are:
– Peter Jones, University College London. “Towards more socially just urban transport policy: an historical journey”
– Cristhian Figueroa, University of Leeds.“Effects of the Built Environment over walking skills”
– Gualtiero Bonvino, University College London, “Transit Oriented Development Land Policy for Public Transport funding: the case of Turin”
– Giulio Mattioli, University of Leeds. “Car-related economic stress in the UK: mapping the problem”
For more information about the presenters, details of the event and for booking your place, please go to this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/socially-just-transport-group-seminar-series-tickets-29025952405
Wed 16 November Amrar Zaga/ Our Place art exhibition is holding a special closing event on Wednesday 16th November from 6pm-8pm at the Hopkins Room, Stratford Central Library, The Grove, Stratford, London E15 1EL. This is an opportunity to view short films about east London, ask questions during a panel discussion on local planning and heritage issues and take a tour of the exhibition with the artist. The event is free but booking is essential. Please email bengaliheritagesociety@gmail.com or call/ text 07915 234404.For further information see: www.facebook.com/bengaliheritagesociety
19 November Saturday 1130 No 3rd runway / no more runways demonstration assembling outside the 3 Magpies, Bath Road, TW6 2AU
Thurs 24 November 2016 from 5.30pm-8.30pm Green Infrastructure and Air Quality event with some thought provoking presentations and open debate at University College London, Chadwick Building G07, London WC1E 6BT. Arranged by UCL Engineering Exchange and LSx (London Sustainability Exchange) to engage with community groups, academics, policy makers and practitioners about what is known in relation to green infrastructure and how we can work together to improve our knowledge and practice. Just Space is supporting this initiative. For more information and to book your place, please go to this link: http://cmp.charityemail.org.uk/CXK-4L9M1-4/sv.aspx where the ‘invitation’ will ask you to provide some details on a ‘registration’ form. More information is also available from Ann Bernardo at a.barnardo@lsx.org.uk or 0207 234 9404.
Wednesday 30 November 2016 at 6.30pm From territorial stigma to territorial justice: a critique of vested interest urbanism’ at Queen Mary College, Mile End Road. A lecture by Tom Slater, Reader in Urban Geography at the University of Edinburgh, with discussion and drinks. Free but please reserve a seat http://www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/research/dmsmith/index.html
In November the Mayor is holding consultation meetings about his new publication A City for all Londoners which sets out his ideas for the new London Plan. All Just Space organisations are encouraged to reserve seats at one or more of the events and to let Richard Lee know if they secure them. Download the document and reserve seats at https://www.london.gov.uk/get-involved/have-your-say/all-consultations/city-all-londoners Later: content and, later, records of these events are gradually being posted on that web page. Consultations end on 11 December.
Thursday 1 December 7-9pm Community Brainstorm: better ideas for the Shoreditch Goodsyard, at St Hilda’s East Community Centre, 18 Club Row, E2 7EY. More Light More Power Campaign.
Thursday 8 December 2016 7.00pm How do we stop council estate demolitions? Southwark Defend Council Housing and supported by Canada Water TRA Canada Estate Tenants’ Hall, Columbia Point, Moodkee St, SE16 7BB
12 January 2017 1800h at Queen Mary, Mile End Road: Equalities and Social Integration. Matthew Ryder, the new Deputy Mayor for Social Integration, has been given an incredibly broad portfolio by Sadiq Khan so it’s great to see that he has accepted an invitation to talk about inequality in the city. The lecture is hosted by the London Fairness Commission and Toynbee Hall and is a free event – but please book. Booking details are here.
Monday 16 January 1700-1830h LSE London seminar, James Clark, Housing Policy Manager, GLA, Supplementary Planning Guidance: London’s strategy New Academic Building NAB (Sardinia St/Lincoln’s InnFields) room LG09. Open without booking.
Monday 23 January 1700-1830h LSE London seminar, Richard Brown, Research Director, Centre for London, Brexit and London. New Academic Building NAB (Sardinia St/Lincoln’s Inn Fields) room LG09 Open without booking.
Thursday 26th January 2017 at 1800h Professor Alex Schwartz, The New School, New York, New York City’s Affordable Housing Plan Under Mayor De Blasio and the Limits of Local Initiative in Making Housing Affordable. Bartlett School of Planning UCL room Roberts G06, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JEEntry: Free but booking is essential. Please reserve your ticket via theEventbrite page The event will be followed by a drinks reception in the Roberts Foyer.
Monday 30 January 1700-1830h LSE London seminar, Yasminah Beebejaun, Bartlett UCL, Gender, urban space and the right to everyday life. New Academic Building NAB (Sardinia St/Lincoln’s Inn Fields) room LG09 Open without booking.
Monday 6 Feb 1700-1830h LSE London seminar, Nick Falk, URBED, & Jonathan Manns, Colliers, West London Corridor, New Academic Building NAB (Sardinia St/Lincoln’s Inn Fields) room LG09. Open without booking.
13 and 14 February meeting and rally resisting Haringey’s “Vehicle”
Feb-March Department of Transport consultation events on Heathrow expansion. Details at http://bit.ly/2ks3GfR
19 January – 23 February 2017 Thursdays 1830 – 2000h | LVMH Lecture Theatre Chaired by Oliver Wainwright for Spatial Practices at Central Saint Martins, Granary Square, King’s Cross N1C. Tickets (free) available on the door – in the atrium, beside security.
Monday 20 Feb 1700-1830h LSE London seminar, Antoine Paccoud, Luxembourg, and Alan Mace, Suburban gentrification, New Academic Building NAB (Sardinia St/Lincoln’s Inn Fields) room LG09. Open without booking.
Monday 27 Feb 1700-1830h LSE London seminar, Gareth Fairweather, TfL, TfL Crossrail, New Academic Building NAB (Sardinia St/Lincoln’s Inn Fields) room LG09. Open without booking.
Monday 6 March 1700-1830h LSE London seminar, Making Central Government and Mayoral policies work at the local level by Alan Benson, Head of Housing Strategy and Commissioning at Haringey Council, New Academic Building NAB (Sardinia St/Lincoln’s Inn Fields) room LG09. Open without booking. Alan Benson will discuss how Central Government and Mayoral housing policies have been playing out at the local level and the challenges faced by local councils and communities. He will also discuss how they can make the best use of the opportunities now being put in place by national and London-wide government.
6 March 1830h at LSE, Portugal Street, free without booking
Thursday 9 March breakfast in West End with Centre for London, James Murray: Building & funding the affordable housing London needs free but must book at http://www.centreforlondon.org/event/funding-and-building-more-affordable-housing/
Thursday30 March 2017 1800-2000h UCL Engineering Exchange Green Infrastructure Reception, Dr Sarah Bell and panel will review green infrastructure in cities and the opportunities and needs for community groups in London to more effectively engage with the latest scientific evidence. Speakers from UCL and communities, including short video and networking canapé reception. At University College London (Room G04, Chadwick Building) Gower Street WC1E 6BT. See map – accessible from main gated entrance off Gower Street. Booking link here.
Monday 13 March 1700-1830h LSE London seminar, William McKee, Chair of Outer London Commission, The Outer London Commission, New Academic Building NAB (Sardinia St/Lincoln’s Inn Fields) room LG09. Open without booking.
Wed. March 15th at 7.30pm, Irish Centre, Camden Sq NW1 Camden New Town History Project: Film of 1960s St Pancras Rent strike
26 April 2017 1400h-1830h “New London Vernacular + Urban Qualities” discussion panel with lectures; 1700h book launch & exhibition: ‘Can we build good-quality new urban places within the current financial and institutional envelope?’ UCL Urban Laboratory at The Bartlett, 22 Gordon street, London WC1H 0QB.Please book on Eventbrite here. Further details on this flyer: (removed)
3 May 1800h-1930h Pyramid Room, Geography, King’s College, Strand, book launch for Battle for the High Street with Suzi Hall, Julian Dobson & Sam Griffiths. All welcome without booking. Drinks.
Saturday 24 June 2017 1030h – 1630h Grand Union Alliance’s Community Conference on the draft Local Plan by Old Oak Park Royal Development Corporation, Pentecostal City Mission Church, 2 Scrubs Lane, Willesden Junction (the nearest station), NW10 6RB. Presentations and discussion about policy that will guide development in the area over the next 20 years – what this means to existing communities and why people should take part in the consultation. Of particular importance to residents and workers in the surrounding parts of west London. An invitation is extended to those experiencing top down large area planning (“Opportunity Areas”, “Housing Zones”) to share insights. Free, including refreshments/lunch, but booking is essential – phone 07784 286 809 or email grandunionalliance@gmail.com . Agenda here: GUA conference June2017. For background information read the GUA news spring 2017 (f) pdf
Tuesday, 25 July 2017 18:30 to 20:00 POWER TO THE CITIZEN! Data and Co-Creation in the Digital City seminar at BASE King’s Cross (UCL), 103c Camley Street, N1C 4PF London (View MapAttend Event).
The ways in which we define and engage with digital city systems is changing. This no longer lies exclusively in the hands of architects, designers, engineers, computer scientists and urban planners: open-source tools and open-data platforms are opening up collaborative opportunities for citizen participation.
This panel session, brings together community groups, academics and digital practitioners into dialogue with the joint aims of understanding the challenges of engaging in this new paradigm and with this knowledge, identify new collaborative mechanisms for citizen-led digital city making.
Speakers include representatives (tbc) from the GLA, JustMap, the UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis and the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture.
POWER TO THE CITIZEN! is a UCL collaboration between the Engineering Exchange, UCL Institute for Digital Innovation in the Built Environment, UCL Urban Lab and CASA.
Monday 10 July 2017 18:30–20:00 “Good Growth by Design – A Vision for London” Public lecture hosted by Institute of Public Affairs, LSE Cities and LSE London Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, will set out his personal vision for London’s future development, and discuss his plans to ensure that the city’s growth benefits all Londoners.
London’s population is at an all-time high, and continues to grow as fast as any period since the 19th century. This growth brings challenges of increasing pressures on housing, workspace, local services, infrastructure and heritage, but also brings opportunities to strengthen London’s position as one of the world’s greatest cities.
In A City for All Londoners, Sadiq Khan set out his intention to write this new chapter in London’s development according to the principles of ‘good growth’. After a welcome by LSE Interim Director, Julia Black, the Mayor will describe what good growth will mean for London and Londoners, and how he intends to work with London’s developers, architects, planners, local authorities and communities to deliver it. Following his speech, Sadiq Khan will join a panel chaired by Director of the Institute of Public Affairs, Tony Travers. Panellists include: Sadie Morgan, architect and commissioner of the National Infrastructure Commission; Jackie Sadek founder and Chief Executive, UK Regeneration; and Ricky Burdett Professor of Urban Studies and Director, LSE Cities. Tickets This event is free and open to all however a ticket is required. Only one ticket per person can be requested via LSE’s online ticket request form from 5pm Monday 3 July until at least 12 noon Tuesday 4 July.” Also live-streamed.
Friday 4 August: closing date for comments on the Terms of Reference of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.Details here
Saturday 5 August, related to Grenfell, there is an open meeting “How can we rethink social housing in London?” 6pm at Precarity Centre, 1A Nelson’s Row, SW4 7JR
Monday 11th September 2017 6pm for 6.30pm to 8.30pm: open meeting hosted by London Forum of Amenity & Civic Societies on the draft London Housing Strategy recently published by the Mayor for public consultation. Speaker: Dominic Curran of the GLA. Venue: The Gallery (in the basement via the side archway – access to the rear of the courtyard), 75 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EL – near to Farringdon station.
Saturday 16th September 1300-1800h at UCL Towards a Land Reform Bill: Land taxation to benefit the many, not the few free but booking essential at Land Justice Network and Just Space
Thursday 21st and Saturday 23rd September 2017 exhibition by Berkeley Homes of their proposals for Malt Street, Old Kent Road. Details to follow at http://www.berkeley-oldkentroad.co.uk/summer_2017
Saturday 23rd September march against social cleansing in London from Tottenham Green (Seven Sisters Tube) to Finsbury Park. Organised by Haringey campaigners against the council’s “development vehicle’ partnership with LendLease. Details to follow.
Monday 25th September in Stratford: Lecture by Dr Paul Watt of Birkbeck, EVICTIONS, DISPLACEMENT AND NEW LOGICS OF EXPULSION IN 21ST CENTURY LONDON. 1800-2000h. Free but booking required. http://www.bbk.ac.uk/events-calendar/birkbecks-big-ideas
Thursday 28 September 2-4pm London Communities Commission This independent Commission was set up in September 2015, with eleven Commissioners from the private, public and voluntary sectors, convened by the Paddington Development Trust and supported by London Funders and by the Corporation of London’s charity, City Bridge Trust. Its task was to look into how citizens and communities in London’s most deprived areas might be strengthened and supported in these times of austerity. We have published six draft and interim reports which can be found on our website https://londoncommunities.co.uk/downloads/ We now have the date for the launch of our final report when we will also take the opportunity of updating our partners on our funding proposals and our work to establish community action areas in the London Plan. We do hope you can attend this event. Contact via the website so we can send you a formal invitation when we have finalised the venue.
Wednesday 1st November 1300-1800h at Mile End. Workshop of Just Space groups on the Mayor’s draft London Housing Strategy. The aim of the event is to bring together a wide range of London community and activist organisations —social housing & private renters, community led housing, Gypsies and Travellers and all equality based groups— to share our analysis of the London Housing Strategy, strengthen our own submissions and put together a collective response from Just Space. We will also tackle some big picture issues such as land value, land ownership and community based regeneration. The event is free and lunch is provided but booking is essential https://justspace-housing.eventbrite.com
Thurs/Fri 2 and 3 November Workshop on what makes a good street? at CASS, Aldgate, free but should book. Details: Streetspace workshop flyer
For the record, these events were listed on this site in 2015 and up to August 2016.
Tuesday 20 January 2015 1730h Dr Max Nathan Planning for London’s Tech City, at Bartlett School of Planning, UCL, Room G01, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN No need to book. http://www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/planning/events/lps-nathan-nov-14
Saturday 24 January 1600-2030h SOAS & CITY journal at the Khalili Theatre, SOAS, Russell Square WC1H 0XG, Take the Money and Run: from the hedge funders to the London riots, an evening of films, talks and discussions with Doreen Massey, Haim Bresheeth, Michael Chanan, Jeremy Gilbert, Michael Elliott-Cooper and Michael Edwards Free and no need to book. More details here.
There will be a free screening of Concrete Heart Land next Tuesday 27 January 2015 at 18:00. Film and Drama Studio, First Floor, Arts 2 Building, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road London E1 4NS. This is a film about the Heygate estate eviction and demolition; trailer at concreteheartland.info
Thursday 29th January 6pm for 6:30pm to 8:45pm at the Gallery, 75 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EJ near to Farringdon station, London Forum of Civic and Amenity Societies open meeting 2050 Infrastructure and Transport Developments The Mayor has published a paper on the infrastructure improvements that will be needed by 2050 and could be considered for funding. It includes Crossrail 2 and other transport improvements. Geoff Hobbs of Transport for London last gave a talk to London Forum members in 2013 which was well received. At this event he will provide details of the Transport Strategy, the programmes to 2020 and the transport elements of the 2050 Infrastructure Plan. Details will be given of the long term plan for rail and Underground to handle the likely growth. Helen Cansick of TfL will speak on how, in the short term, the Roads Modernisation Programme, and in the medium to longer term, the road system and its capacity will be developed and managed, through the strategic measures for both accommodating and managing road traffic growth, including demand management.
Saturday 31 January, March for homes in London, assemble 1200h either at Elephant and Castle or Shoreditch to march to City Hall, http://marchforhomes.org
Monday 2 February 1645-1800h Prof Ian Gordon Quantitative Easing of an International Financial Centre: How London escaped (or gained from) the major impacts of the international financial crisis, at LSE St Clements Building room STC.S75 no need to book.
Wednesday 4 February, morning and early afternoon: Rent Freedom Day at Westminster, organised by Generation Rent. Details: http://www.rentfreedomday.org/schedule
Monday 9 February 1645-1800h Antoine Paccoud Reframing London’s gentrification: from class transformation to neighbourhood commodification, at LSE St Clements Building room STC.S75 no need to book.
Tuesday 10th February 2015, 6.30-8pm The Housing Disaster: Danny Dorling in Conversation with Paul Watt Birkbeck College, Keynes Library, 43 Gordon Sq Free but reserve a place britishpoliticscentre@bbk.ac.uk
Monday 16 February 1645-1800h Sam Sims and Brell Wilson, Securing a future for young people in London’s digital economy, at LSE St Clements Building room STC.S75 no need to book.
Thursday, 19 February, LSE London The Future of London 6:30pm-8:00pm in Clement House, room 3.02, Open to all, no need to book. Tony Travers, Christine Whitehead, Nancy Holman and Stephen Glaister
14-23 February Block the [GLA] budget week of action. Mayor Boris Johnson is the most powerful politician in London when it comes to decisions about housing, with control over a £1.8bn budget for delivering new homes and hundreds of hectares of public land. His budget goes to the vote on 23 February and if passed, will mean more sky-high rents, sell-offs of the public land we need to build council housing and ‘affordable’ housing that most people can’t afford. It’s a recipe for bigger profits for landlords and developers, and more social cleansing and homelessness for ordinary Londoners. The Radical Housing Network is calling a week of action in the run-up to the vote culminating in a mass action on 23 February to BLOCK THE BUDGET. Daily details at radicalhousingnetwork.org
Monday 23 February changed start time 1630-1800h Jo Negrini (Croydon LB), ‘Masterplanning’ regeneration, at LSE St Clements Building room STC.S75 no need to book
Monday 2 March changed start time 1630-1800h Jessica Ferm and Ed Jones (UCL) London’s industrial land: cause for concern? at LSE St Clements Building room STC.S75 no need to book.
Monday 9 March changed start time 1630-1800h Ben Corr (GLA) Projecting London’s population, at LSE St Clements Building room STC.S75 no need to book.
Thursday 12 March Room G02, 28 Russell Square 1-2pm. Commonplace Diversity: Social Relations in Super-diverse East London Speaker: Dr Susanne Wessendorf (University of Birmingham) No need to book
Monday 16 March 1700h-1830 extra seminar added to LSE series The flat white economy, talk by Douglas McWilliams on the digital economy and its dependence on migrants. Room AGWR 5th floor of LSE Old Building.
Saturday 28 March free day-workshop on neighbourhood planning presented by Just Space neighbourhood groups which have been working with UCL students. Mile End. Details and booking at https://eventbrite.com/event/16099505053
Wednesday 29 April 2015 6.30 pm at UCL (exact venue to be confirmed – email turnergeo [at] gmail.com if you would like to attend) Just Space Economy and Planning Group – Economic Viability in Planning Speakers are: Nick Perry from the Hackney Society who is taking Hackney and Sainsbury to the Court of Appeal over a development in Stoke Newington and the viability issues there Jerry Flynn of the Elephant and Castle who was the force behind the victorious legal battle to prise the viability assessment concerning the Heygate Estate out of Southwark Council. George Turner of the Shell Centre campaign
Wednesday 29 April 2015 1800 for 1830 start – 2045 at Farringdon. London Forum meeting London’s growing population, how will they be housed? Free and booking not required. More details at http://londonforum.org.uk/events.php
22 May 2015 all day at Birkbeck Beyond the Skyline: addressing London’s housing crisis …a diverse group of scholars, policy-makers, activists andpractitioners from across the capital and beyond, to address questions like: has London reached the limits of its ‘carrying capacity’? Is building more social housing feasible and desirable? What should the policy response to the property boom of the capital and southeast? How have communities mobilised to reverse London’s creeping ‘social cleansing’? Booking necessary and payment (£5-£15 according to income) and details at http://www.bbk.ac.uk/events-calendar/beyond-the-skyline-addressing-london2019s-housing-crisis
Three meetings at City Hall about the next set of alterations for the London Plan:
Thursday 14 May 2015 – Minor Alterations launch event with Sir Edward Lister, 12 noon to 2 pm, London’s Living Room, City Hall
Monday 18 May 2015 – Housing Standards Minor Alterations consultation event, 10 am to 12 noon, London’s Living Room, City Hall
Wednesday 27 May 2015 – Parking Standards Minor Alterations consultation event, 10 am to 12 noon, London’s Living Room, City Hall
Tuesday 26 May 2015 20.00hr: The Affordable Housing Crisis, BBC Radio 4 (to be repeated Sunday 31 May 2015 17.00hr), presented by Lesley Curwen who investigates the ways that councils negotiate affordable housing with developers.
Monday 1 June to Sunday 7 June 2015 11.00-17.30hr weekdays, 12.00-16.00hr Sat & Sun: Employment Land Portfolio – Drawings of Tottenham, an exhibition of White Hart Industrial Estate by Lucinda Rogers. Part of the London Festival of Architecture, the project was spurred by Cass Cities research on the disappearance of industrial land. At Heyne Tillett Steel, Engineers, 4 Pear Tree Court, Clerkenwell, London EC1R 0DS .
Saturday 9 June to Tuesday 16 June 2015 12.00-18.00hr: Ubiquitous Unique, an Installation challenging claims for the uniqueness of developments and providing a hub for new ideas on the relationship of architecture, development and communities. It is curated by Reclaim London, a new group formed to voice the collective concerns of Londoners about the city’s growth while seeking accountability and fairness in the planning process. At the Red Gallery, 1-3 Rivington Street EC2A 3DT.
Friday June 12th, 7-9pm Concrete Heart Land will be screened as part of an evening called “Mapping Displacement & Resistance” Room LG01 at Professor Stuart Hall Building, Goldsmiths College. This event brings together activists, artists, academics and residents, to map housing displacement in London and to discuss ways of resisting the social cleansing and displacement that the current dominant neoliberal model perpetuates. For more information contact l.glucksberg@gold.ac.uk https://www.facebook.com/events/103279386675581/
15th June until 20th June Cass Cities and Building Bloqs invite you to the London Festival of Architecture exhibition Where London Works at Building Bloqs, 4 Anthony Way, N18. Where London Works celebrates the vibrancy, diversity and importance of the increasingly undermined industrial economy in the Middle Lea Valley. The exhibition showcases over 100 interviews with businesses, from 165 year old wholesalers to the shoemakers for West End theatres.
Thursday 18 June 2015 18.00-20.00hr plus: Rethinking smart cities from the ground up @ London technology week,The London Living Room, City Hall, organised by Nesta with panellists discussing: How can city governments use digital technology to engage, enable and empower citizens? How can people use digital technology to influence the way their cities work? Register here .
Wednesday 1 July 1800h-1930 lecture by Michael Edwards Prospects for housing, land and rent in UK cities in the coming decades followed by reception. Free but booking essential http://bit.ly/1Ilq1Cd Report also available from http://bit.ly/1NvjmV7 Part of the Government Office for Science Foresight programme on the future of cities.
Tuesday 7th July “The Industrious Londoner?” A walk around the industrial estates of Charlton Riverside led by Roy Tindle, and part of thinking about what should be in the next London Plan. Assemble at Charlton Station at 6 pm. London’s industry withered away years ago. Or did it? Scattered around the capital are parcels of industrial land, some small and others quite large. The activities that take place within these parcels are hidden to most people, sadly including local government, but they underpin our daily lives. Take a walk along the western edge of Charlton Riverside, see what goes on and then stop for a brief discussion in the Anchor in Hope pub, on the banks of the Thames. To book a place, go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/industrious-londoner-tickets-17275098284
Monday 21 September 2015 early evening: launch of Just Space Economy and Planning handbook on defending London’s working and industrial spaces. At nef. Details to follow.
July: Public consultation events on the housing SPG at City Hall: Two public consultation events are being held at City Hall (reservation required). See post about the London plan consultations on the home page for details and to reserve a seat: Monday 13 July – 9.00 to 11.00 and Thursday 23 July – 15.00 to 17.00
Friday afternoon and Saturday 10 and 11 July Just Space community conference on the next London Plan: what should it say? It is essential to reserve a place (free) and do so separately for the Friday session (1400-2030h) and the Saturday (1000-1700h) at http://bit.ly/1S1tnff Programme in detail here: JS conf prog 2015 m
26 August at City Hall, Pre-meeting for the Examination in Public of the London Plan Minor Amendments (MALP) and technical seminar. Those who made representations will have been invited. Other Just Space groups wishing to take part should make contact now.
Monday 28 September 6.30-8.30pm Launch meeting of the ‘First Steps‘ project of the West Green Road/Seven Sisters Development Trust [Wards Corner] at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre N15 4RX. Tube/rail Seven Sisters. Free but let us know if you are coming at n15developmenttrust@gmail.com.
Reclaim London meets on Monday 28 September to launch its Manifesto and Steering Committee 7 p m atThe Gallery, 75 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EJ
UCL Engineering Exchange with London Sustainability Exchange hold a transport and air quality community forum on Tuesday 13 October from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. The aim is to provide community projects with the support of specialist engineers and seed funding. Reserve your free place here
21-23 October at City Hall, Examination in Public of MALP.
Monday 25 January 2016 Sakiba Gurda, London Borough of Islington, ‘London – a view from a borough’ 1700-1830 at the LSE, 20 Kingsway, Ground Floor, Room 01 no booking required.
29 and 30 January 1200-2000h Students of Architecture at Cass Arts have conducted an audit of the economic and civic life around Old Kent Road, now designated as an “Opportunity Area” in the London Plan. Their work will be on show for two days and on the first day, Friday, students will be presenting it. Mardyke House, Crosslet St, SE17 1HH
Sunday 31 January 1900h at Camden Peoples’ Theatre, NW1 2PY Hampstead Rd & Drummond St, beside Warren St Tube – part of the Whose London Is It Anyway? Festival – How do we solve the housing crisis? with Paul Watt and Maxwell Hutchinson https://www.cptheatre.co.uk/production/how-do-we-solve-the-housing-crisis/
Monday 1 February 2016 Duncan Bowie, U of Westminster and ex-GLA ‘Beyond the compact city’ 1700-1830 at the LSE, 20 Kingsway, Ground Floor, Room 01 no booking required. late addition to the programme
Monday 8 February 2016 John Lett, GLA London Plan team ‘Issues for the new mayor’ 1700-1830 at the LSE, 20 Kingsway, Ground Floor, Room 01 no booking required.
Monday 22 February 2016 Denis Dillon , ‘Tottenham after the riots’ 1700-1830 at the LSE, 20 Kingsway, Ground Floor, Room 01 no booking required.
Thursday 4 February 2016 at City Hall: Just Space Community Conference on the next London Plan. Booking essential. More details here and with post-conference updates
Monday 29 February 2016 Richard Lee ‘Community visions for the next London Plan’ 1700-1830 at the LSE, 20 Kingsway, Ground Floor, Room 01 no booking required.
Monday 7 March 2016 Jane Wills, Queen Mary, ‘Localism in London’ 1700-1830 at the LSE, 20 Kingsway, Ground Floor, Room 01 no booking required.
Monday 14 March 2016 Peter Rees, UCL ‘The death of the UK planning system’ 1700-1830 at the LSE, 20 Kingsway, Ground Floor, Room 01 no booking required.
Saturday April 9 1200-evening event organised by Good London (funded by Trust for London) at Farringdon, bringing optimistic Londoners together to discuss the future. Details and free booking at http://goodlondon.org/meet-up/
Tuesday, 26 April 2016 10:00 to 16:00 conference Can we afford to lose council housing? organised by Prof Loretta Lees at Cambridge House – 1 Addington Square, London SE5 7JZ. Free but must book
Thursday 28 April at UCL a conference on the next London Plan and JustSpace’s inputs to it. [This is a follow-on from the 4 February Community Conference from which a lot of people had to be excluded.] Details here.
Monday 6 June 1800h at Draper Hall, 1 Howell Walk, London SE1 6LT Latin Elephant invites you to the launch of the report: The Case for London’s Latin QuarterA report by Latin Elephant that sets out a strategic vision for the future of the Latin American community in Elephant and Castle. Free but booking essential and donation welcomed: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-case-for-londons-latin-quarter-report-launch-tickets-25428494311#tickets
Wed 15 June 1900h-2100h First public screening of the documentary film Equal By Design (inc. Q&A + reception) Gustav Tuck Lecture Theatre, UCL, A documentary film about equality, wellbeing and the UK housing crisis.
