London's Calling

In this post, I would like to bring things closer to home and focus on London, my home city. In a report published this week by London First named ' London 2036: Driving jobs and Growth in the Capital' , it states that in early 2015, (It was 6th January to be precise!) London's population will go beyond the 1939 post war peak in population to reach 8.6 million, and will later climb to 10 million by the end of the 2030's (London First, 2015).  It is said that the City's insatiable economy, attraction for new comers, falling death rates and increasing birth rates are the factors which are driving the population increase within the capital (Guardian, 2015).

This may be seen in quite a positive light. It has meant that the 'counter-urbanisation' which was experienced after the war has been turned on it's head and London is now the largest city in the EU (Washington post,2015). These factors are great from a political and economic point of view as it shows that London and therefore the UK is prospering.

However, the struggles and challenges that come with an increased population within the city cannot be avoided. The main issues  focussed on by the media are  housing and transport, both which are underinvested in at present. The Financial Times (2015) states that on both a national and a regional level, policy makers have failed to keep up with London's growth and therefore policy is playing catch up when it comes to population. 

Let's turn to Boris to get his input:

 ‘It’s something that politicians can’t control, we can’t determine how many babies are going to be born in London. It’s a great tribute in a way to the city that people have such confidence in it that they are having families and they are choosing to remain in London. What people like me have got to do is try and prepare, try and make sure we have the transport and the housing infrastructure to cope. In the end I think obviously we’re going to have a debate about the ultimate size of the population of the UK.’  Boris Johnston (Time Out, 2015)

Is the first line of his statement strictly true? He is discounting the fact that estimates can be made (as shown in the report) and therefore is he maybe trying to cover his back for the fact that politicians are unprepared when it comes to this population increase within the city? Cities are important entities to focus on when considering population and sustainable policy choices, as we are now living in an increasingly urbanised world.  Continued urbanisation and population growth is estimated to add 2.5 billion people to the worlds urban population by 2050, 90% of which will be located in Asia and Africa (UN Department of economic and Social Affairs, 2014). The report policy suggestions state that city planner should ensure a more balanced distribution of urban growth which is shared equally and sustainably. This means that debates around population change globally prioritise  cities and their adaptation to change within their discussions. 

He is however right about the fact that there needs to be a future debate surrounding the size of the UK's population as a result of these statistics. The city of London should not be left on its own to tackle these issues, and government on a national level needs to join the discussions, due to the challenges that this increase in population will bring. There needs to be plans put in place on how to accommodate this increasing number of people within the UK. However, if in reality the government is unable to do this, then population policy measures need to be implemented. This could be done through economic measures such as taxation, or through social measures such as media campaigns. This is the harsh reality that the country will have to face if it cannot provide the infrastructure needed for the expansion of the capital.