Life during lockdown

I fully agree with everything Hazza01 said about greening the economy. On construction I don’t mind either way. 

In general I’d like to see even greater disincentives to driving and more incentives to cycle or use public transport.

I agree with most of the suggestions for greening our city. I really appreciate this effort on the part of the Mayor & London Assembly.

I’d also like to see London reclaimed for Londoners. We need visitors, but too much of our housing is given over to short term tourist lettings, too many of our cultural institutions and neighbourhoods are completely dependent on tourism. This imbalance is distorting our wonderful city. We are more than a weekend party venue. I would like to see more affordable housing for our key workers and for the young, some kind of rent controls, and better use of zoning rules to protect our local communities. 

As an architecture student and student in urban planning I see the Covid Pandemic as the perfect opportunity to renew and rethink urban mobility in London. I love the new pedestrian ways and I hope that they can stay permanent. A more pedestrian London means a greener, egalitarian and friendlier London. It also presents an opportunity for more cyclers to feel safer on the roads thus inspiring people to buy bikes and cycle around the city. We should take this oppotunity and use it favorably to keep London on the forefront of urban ideas.

I would like to see an aggressive, inventive and thorough 'greening' of the city and its economy. Something that would lead and inspire cities and countries all over the world.  ULEZ and traffic-free roads are great and much appreciated but we could and should do so much more.

How about:  a recycling bin next to every rubbish bin in London especially in the parks?  Grants for home insulation?  More charging points for electric cars?  Some kind of incentive for people to recycle at home?  (So many people still don't).  Traffic wardens aggressively policing engine idling and imposing the fines that already exist by law.  These are just a few ideas. The Greta Thunberg generation is very very interested in this.  I myself am older than they are but very concerned indeed.  

Also no construction on Saturdays would be nice.  Speaking as someone who's living in a part of a road which has suffered from heavy construction work and constant noise from 2010 onwards, six days a week without a break, 8am to 6pm this would make a huge difference.  Its not just the construction itself but all the supporting vehicles which make so much noise and cause so much pollution.  London can turn into a giant construction site in the summer especially and residents have no rights and no power to resist this.

legalise E-scooters 

This isn't just London really but it is clear with this situation and the Black Lives Matter protests that we need to fund much more heavily in to youth projects. The youth of today have nowhere to go, nothing to do and so have to make up their own entertainment which sometimes and a lot of the time ends up being something not so good. We, as an adult population do nowhere near enough to mix our young, educate to love and like all people young and old, black or white and there is nowhere families can go of an evening to have fun or enjoy entertainment so they only have their parents, direct family and close friends to influence them and we wonder why we haven't stamped out racism yet! Please look in to projects that get the young AND families out, socialising, mixing and cohabitating like youth centres, family clubs and pubs with entertainment, sheltered outdoors areas. When I visit family in weymouth its great, you can go to the pubs with kids, you can go to the beach or arcades and there's always something on, in West London I wouldn't take my 14 year old daughter anywhere near a pub, there's nowhere to go, no entertainment and a simple bowling trip would cost me around ££60 to £100 which I don't have so it feels like we have no life outside of work and home!

We now know many companies can work with home working thus removing the need for space taking, expensive company headquarters and offices. these properties could be repurposed for essential housing. It would also reduce traffic entering the city and reduce reliance on public transport. thus improving air quality.

My personal opinion to... 'How can London recover from Covid 19?'... is get rid of Sadiq Khan. 

It would stand a better chance of recovering from Covid 19 if he hadn't approved marches by BLM/Antifa to go ahead in the first place, there was no social distancing at all.  Allowing BLM/Antifa's destructive march resulted in the Veterans and DFLA coming to London to protect our war memorials from vandalism.

Anyone would have realised that was going to happen so why didn't Sadiq Khan.  He needs to be removed and has wrecked our once great capital since he got the role as Mayor.

Whilst the aims set out by the London Recovery Board seem sensible and appropriate there is a real risk that the recovery will further isolate and alienate older and disabled people, who have already been discriminated against by the government's actions so far during the pandemic.  This started with the initial official comments that Covid-19 was nothing to worry about because for most people the virus caused only a minor illness and only really badly affected older people and those with long term conditions.  It continued with the official instructions to acute hospitals to clear beds for coronavirus patients by discharging older people to care homes (even if they could have returned home with support), denying them testing for Covid-19 prior to discharge and forcing care homes to accept them.  It further continued with GPs being strongly encouraged to make frail older people agree to DNR notices and ambulance crews being told to avoid bringing older people with Covid-19 symptoms into hospital.  And so it went on....

The recovery focuses on narrowing social, economic and health inequalities rather than leveling up - does this mean a reduction in social, economic and health standards for older people to narrow the gap with those who have worse outcomes?  Why not commit to an increase in outcomes for those with poor outcomes currently?

Also, whilst a cleaner, greener London sounds wonderful, this is likely to mean more cyclists zipping past and frightening pedestrians by cycling on pavements or rushing through red lights when pedestrians (who have the right of way) are trying to cross the road.  Cleaner, greener and more respectful of each other would be much better.  Currently we are being told to walk, cycle or drive - what about those of us who can no longer walk far or cycle?  We still need safe, accessible public transport, we don't want to have to drive everywhere.   

These issues are complex but london needs to shift from being a self centred to a life centred city.

We need to radically rethink of london as a life centred capital. Starting with fascilitating the emotional healing required from the trauma of such a poorly managed pandemic. There needs to be a radical shift to bring communities back together as a priority before things open up to quickly.

We need to help people focus on the physical connection with others that has been lost or prevented for so long. If we move back into consumerism too fast, we will create a city of hungry ghosts looking for happiness in the material that just doesn't exist.

London needs to send a clear message to the world that it is an anti racist city. At city moving forward with the principles of Inclusion, solidarity and interconnection at its heart. There needs to be measures and initiatives put in place to call out inequality and praise those who take affirmative action and training to overcome systemic oppression.

London needs to remember the environmental issues start with the impact of big business not the individual. Green tech is great but not if we don't resolve the throw away consumerist culture. 

When londoners come together in solidarity anything is possible. Let's keep a sense of solidarity as we have seen in the many powerful protests recently. 

 Utilise current political discourse to convey the message. 

R number above 1= exponential growth. Let's spread kindness and solidarity to more than one and its growth is exponential 

Flattening the curve takes cooperation and collaboration but is possible =  what other curves of inequality can we together flattened?

Social distancing= they say this has kept us safe but it's not true.  It's physical distancing. Let's check what we distance from socially and learn how to reconnect.  

Women are disproportionately affected by Coronavirus. They are more likely to have to take on responsibility for homeschooling and childcare, there are more women in part time jobs, the care, retail and hospitality sectors. Women will need increased support for childcare, financial support to make up for lost wages due to furlough, redundancy and/or career breaks to care for children. We need community centres and subsidised childcare to help with recovery. Training/retraining, mentorship schemes online and in person for people who need to change careers because of the effects of the pandemic.
There has been an increase in domestic violence during lockdown, so more resources need to support and shelter victims and to educate people on how to stop being violent towards their partners and families. 
More community mental health support schemes. 
Some people will be quarentined until the pandemic is over so they will need support to stay isolated while they are medically vulnerable. More online outreach, telephone outreach. 
More people need acess to parks and green spaces so that inner city dwellers can have the health benefits. Brownfield sites could become community gardens. Schemes to create roof and balcony gardens, living walls to combat air pollution. Wider footpaths and cycle lanes and better signposting and routes to provide alternative options to get around and reduce car use. 

Sack Khan!!!!

Whilst Sadiq Kahn has been mayor of London.

* Rape up 18%
* Theft up 34% 
* Homicide up 27% 
* Burgarly up 19% 
* Gun crime up 16%
* Knife crime up 31%
* Youth Homicide up 70%

Nearly bankrupted TfL

How on earth is this man still Mayor? He is a proven liar and completely incapable of running London. My plan is to now move from London because of the place it has become1

Ensure these rediculous protests stop and this black on black and black on white violence stops. The only way it can get better is completely ban any protests. If they're not banned then London will never recover. 
 

don't board up statues or put them in museums. Just encourage education supporting the fact that history is history and that's just life- it can't be rewritten because someone doesn't like it. Sadiq is khan needs to stop the race baiting. 

- Ensure every household has fiber optics access to improve work from home conditions

- Green initiatives: private and business incentives for solar generation, tree planting, electric public transport (including escooters)

- Give more priority to pedestrians increasing pedestrian only zones, widening side walks, check Barcelona's superblocks as an example.

- Upgrade buildings, housing conditions

- Help local businesses to thrive and to be able to compete with the tech giants like amazon

Being forced to stay local made me experience how difficult it is to get around within the borough (Greenwich). The lack of public transport and safe cycling routes are evident now more than ever. Being the area hilly also made me realise how the time is right for different modes of electric transport (such as scooters), which are currently banned. The lack of secure bike parking was a barrier in choosing an electric bike as a mode of transport (due to the cost V risk of theft). I also saw how important it is to decentralise spaces dedicated to culture and leisure, to avoid relying on travel into central London for pleasure. Local, independent small business should get all the support they can get as they need to be able to compete with more centrally located choices and big corporations. 

1. Legalize controlled cannabis. Lower crime rate, less stop and searches. Idealize Canadian model and target mass production with law.

2. Partnership programs with green energy suppliers, every household should have solar power.

3. New building requirements for more space to be used underground including a review into living accommodations.

4. Expand congestion charge area and include a charge on none green vehicles.

5. Increased protection for green parks with increase in tree planting.

A number of things can be done to improve the living environments of Londoners:

1.  A crackdown on litter.  This is environmental waste in its simplest form. Litter leads to river pollution, micro-plastics entering the marine environment.  It is also unsightly and degrades the appearance of London and affects how both we and visitors view our city

2. Crackdown on graffiti.   This is a form of criminal damage which fuels gang culture.  The failure to clear this up makes clear to people that crime is going unpunished.  Like litter, it is also unsightly and degrades the appearance of London and affects how both we and visitors view our city.

3. A tree planting programme in London's parks, garden squares and estates would help capture carbon, reduce pollution, muffle traffic noise and provide more nesting sights for birds.

4. A green roof programme - both on public and private roofs would also capture carbon, store rain water and reduce the "heat island" effect, reducing London's temperature in the peak of summer.

5. Expanding the number of charging points for electric vehicles would encourage people to switch from petrol and diesel.

6. A major pot-hole filing operation would provide employment and make cycling in particular less dangerous in London.   Not doing this in lockdown when the roads were much quieter was a huge missed opportunity.