TfL CommsCAST

Just six weeks away from the local elections, for this episode we wanted to have a look at what might change when London heads to the polls. We were delighted to be joined by journalist and election specialist Lewis Baston to discuss the boroughs to watch, the impact the boundary changes will have and, believe it or not, the similarities between Tower Hamlets and Havering. 

You can follow Lewis on Twitter and read a selection of his writings on the local elections here. 

For this episode we caught up with Steve Chambers from the Transport for New Homes campaign and the publication of their recent report “Building Car Dependency” Steve is an urban planner and sustainable transport campaigner. He has worked in the past on campaigns for Living Streets and Campaign for Better Transport and is co-author of the report. We explore the report in depth as well as the lessons for London. You can read the report here and find out more details about the campaign here. 

For the latest episode we were delighted to be joined by the Chief Executive of Centre for London, Nick Bowes. Nick was most recently the Mayoral Director of Policy at the Greater London Authority. Nick has previously worked at the Royal Society, EEF (now Make UK) and the CBI. We talked about the work of the Centre for London, the challenges for the capital and TfL as well as No Time To Die….

You can find out more about the work of Centre for London here and you can watch the TfL Roundtable here. 

For the first episode on the new series we were delighted to be join by Dr Jack Brown to tackle one of the biggest issues facing the capital, it's role within the wider UK. Jack's timely book The London Problem, addresses these issues one by one and we took time to explore the key themes.

Jack is a Lecturer in London Studies and is part of the Strand Group, in the Policy Institute at King’s. Previously, Jack was Researcher in Residence at No. 10 Downing Street, Research Manager at thinktank Centre for London, and studied Contemporary British History at BA and MA level at Queen Mary University of London. You can get a copy of his book here. 

For the final episode of Series 2 I was delighted to be joined by TV historian Tim Dunn. Tim’s series “Secrets of the London Underground” has just finished, providing a fascinating insight into some of the hidden gems across the network. Well worth a watch. We caught up with Tim, and Bird Edmund, our own heritage consultant, chatted about the series, but also about the future and how our work can continue to grow the rich heritage of the network. 

You can catch up with Secrets of the London Underground here and Tim’s previous series, The Architecture the Railways Built on UKTV player here. 

We were excited to be joined by Professor Loretta Lees.  Professor Lees is urban geographer internationally known for her research on gentrification/urban regeneration, global urbanism, urban policy, urban public space, architecture and urban social theory and the hipsterfication of East London 

Our discussion was a tour de force on the impact of all these issues and how they affect our work but in property development but also commercial and not forgetting the transport side. 

For the second part of the double header on the future of retail and place making we were joined by the dynamic and enthusiastic Adam Scott from FREESTATE.  Adam is the Executive Creative Director and Founder. An architect and designer, he’s won several Cannes Gold Lions. A lifelong advocate of the truly transformational experience, his abiding passions are the experiential wonders of the English landscape garden, the Shaman, and the Las Vegas casino, we cover all this, how it could work for TfL. 

For the first our double bill we were joined by Ross Bailey, the CEO & Founder of Appear Here, an online marketplace for short-term retail space. We were joined by Tom Atkinson from the TfL Commercial Development team to discuss how we utilise space, how retail works in those spaces and the role of the retail in future, and in the past. As well how retail is where we can now go to fall in love…and find people who share our identity.

For this episode we were delighted to be joined by Georgia Gould, Georgia is the leader of the London Borough of Camden and the Chair of London Councils. We covered all of this as well as the future for Camden Lock, the response to the pandemic and the need to really think outside of the box when it comes to the types of housing we need to deliver and Hagel and the use of the dialectic. 

The episode was recorded before the election results were known. 

You can read more about the 15 minute city here.

You can listen to the excellent new “Awkward Conversations” podcast, Episode One focuses on Commission of Race and Ethnic Disparities' unit report of Racial Disparities in Ethnic Minorities. The Group share their insights and feelings on this divisive report and comment on the impact it has or may have on current society. You can listen here, after CommsCAST of course! 

We were delighted to be joined by Lyn Garner, the Chief Executive of the ‎London Legacy Development Corporation. Lyn has not only had one of the most diverse London based careers, working in a number of London boroughs, but also now manages one of the most diverse infrastructure projects in the capital. We touch upon the housing and commercial developments in the park as well as working with the boroughs, the pandemic, the V&A, Eurostar, the future and of course, West Ham United.