Thamesmead Housing Estate, Architect: G.L.C Department of Architecture and Civic Design; Image Jon Bennett (2006); CC BY 2.0
About: In 1986, the Greater London Council (GLC) (1965-1986) was abolished by the government of Margaret Thatcher, marking the end of a powerful era in London’s metropolitan governance. Yet, four decades later, the GLC’s contribution to the design of London’s landscapes—its parks, housing developments, civic spaces, and environmental policies—continues to shape the daily life and character of the capital.
This conference marks the 40th anniversary of the GLC’s demise by critically reassessing its role in landscape architecture, urban design, and public policy. The GLC’s in-house architects, planners, and landscape architects fostered a distinct civic design culture—progressive, socially engaged, and ambitious in its scope. This culture was reflected within the Green Belt policy; the two new Metropolitan Parks (Burgess Park and Mile End Park) and Metropolitan Parks generally, such as Hampstead Heath or Crystal Park; the Regional Parks, i.e. Lea Valley Regional Park, Colne Valley Regional Park, and the Havering Country Park. The GLC also proposed new towns, i.e. the aborted Hook, and half-born Thamesmead. In addition, there were expanded towns such as Hastings and Bletchley, as well as the GLC support for New Ash Green. And of course, there were the Thames Barrier flood defences. Finally in 1982, late in the GLC history, was the appointment of David Goode as Senior Ecologist with an afterlife, post 1986-2000, as the London Ecology Unit with Jacklyn Johnston as its landscape architect. From riverside parks and green corridors to housing landscapes and urban renewal projects, the GLC’s legacy remains visible, though often overlooked.
The contributions reflect on a large number of issues, many of which remain current an provide wider lessons for local authorities generally:
The role of landscape architecture and open space planning in local authorities
Parks, green spaces, and recreation in the post-war era
Housing landscapes and the integration of architecture and open space
The role of local authority’s Architecture, Planning and Development departments
The politics of design under local government
Public participation and community landscape projects
Gender, class, and labour in the local authority design teams
Comparisons with other metropolitan authorities in the UK and abroad
The dismantling of metropolitan governance and its design consequences
Local authorities’s environmental and ecological policies
Archival and oral histories of local authority projects and designers
Speakers include: Tom Turner, John Medhurst, Tim Catchpole, Mark Loxton, Marie Burns, Annie Coombs, David Foreman
Programme and Tickets to follow
Location: The Gallery, 70 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EJ
Organised by: FOLAR, supported by the Landscape Foundation