#WhenThisIsAllOver (what do we do then?)
29 Apr 2020
After the pandemic has passed and the lockdown is over (whenever that comes), London will be changed. But how? And what changes should we be making?
The virus and the lockdown have revealed many things about the capital - our need for public space, our reliance on our transport networks, how many of our key workers have to travel great distances to work, how small and uncomfortable much of our housing is, the tenuousness of 'gig' employment and the great poverty that exists.
It has also seen an upswing in community spirit, a great deal of selflessness, a greater appreciation of those poorly-paid workers - bus drivers, shelfstackers, binmen, cleaners - whose previously ignored, invisible roles have come to be seen as vital to the functioning of the city.
The economic impact of the pandemic might need a reconstruction every bit as profound as anything since the end of WW2. So what do we keep? What do we change?
We want your thoughts, your opinions, your plans: what will happen when this is all over? What is to become of our high streets; how do we pay for the costs of the lockdown? Will London continue to grow, or will cities and urban life become less popular again? How will this taste of remote working play out - will we need as many big, shiny corporate towers? Ans how will we choose to live - tiny apartments in vertical developments are fundamentally less attractive than a month ago.
And more importantly, how should the city change after this? What sort of home do we want to build? How do we ensure that key workers are adequately paid and housed? How do we keep pollution and traffic down? How do we make sure that all Londoners have access to green space?
And how do we harness the community spirit, the people who have helped and volunteered, the ones looking out for neighbours and others, so that this becomes a point when society changed rather than a memory.
Again, the two questions that we'd like you to answer: what will change and what should change when this is all over?
You can email your thoughts and ideas to us, post them on Twitter or add them to the comments below.
#WhenThisIsAllOver the London Society will organise a debate to look at these issues.
WhenThisIsAllOver is the London Society's debate about what the post-virus, post-lockdown world will and should look like. Contributions so far include:
Please give your views in the comments below, or by emailing blog@londonsociety.org.uk