I was recently made aware of the World Origin Site plaques, which mark the “place, people and moment when something truly ground-breaking was invented, discovered or first used.” They work in a very similar way to the Blue Plaques that adorn our streets and buildings but these plates are green and aimed at the modern world. While this form of accreditation is new, it was gratifying to see three sites in London out of just 14 listings. These include the Thames Tunnel as the first such structure built underwater (we recommend checking out the Brunel Museum in Rotherhithe for more information); the discovery of penicillin at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington; and the rather wonderful realisation that Bar Italia in Soho is actually the location of the first demonstration of true television images by John Logie Baird in 1926. Often have I frequented this marvelous slice of Soho heritage but I never knew that it was so steeped in technological history. 

On Monday, I attended the London Conference, organised by the think tank Centre for London. It was great to see the enthusiasm over the course of the day that London could become an “ascendant global city”. And even better to hear from our Mayor, Sadiq Khan, as he pointed out that the solutions to today’s issues lie in the past – something the London Society subscribes to wholeheartedly. He also explained that building housing was one way to stem the tide of rising populism. If people have a home, they know they belong in a place, so the argument for decent housing is a moral one, not just economic. Making sure people have good housing will be the topic of our last big talk of the year, The Future of London’s Housing. This is a great opportunity to hear from the Housing Ombudsman and from those seeking to make sure everyone has a place they can call home. 

I was also reminded of a trip I took last week to the ongoing Agar Grove Estate in Camden, which is being revitalized through a years-long project by the local authority and architects Hawkins\Brown and Mae. Once completed, it will be the UK’s largest Passivhaus development, demonstrating that we can create healthy neighbourhoods that are warm and energy efficient, and therefore proving that it is possible to have your cake and eat it. The origins of the London Society were based in making a better city for all and while the challenges are greater than ever before we know that while there is a will, there is a way.