About Good Growth by Design

Good Growth by Design sets out a united programme of work to enhance the design of buildings and neighbourhoods for all Londoners. 

London’s population is growing rapidly. This is both a challenge and an opportunity. It means we need to build homes, neighbourhoods and workspaces for a rapidly expanding city. This must be done in a way that creates successful, inclusive and sustainable places.

Good Growth by Design is the Mayor’s plan to create a city that works for all Londoners. This means new development should benefit everyone who lives here. As such, it should be sensitive to the local context. It should also be environmentally sustainable and physically accessible. 

This programme calls on all involved in London’s booming architectural, design and built environment professions to help realise the Mayor's vision. Good Growth by Design will require the skills of both the Mayor’s Design Advocates and the wider sector. This includes teams here at City Hall, the London boroughs and other public bodies.

There are six parts of the programme:

  1. Setting standards
    Using design inquiries to investigate key issues for architecture, urban design and place-shaping. This will help to set clear policies and standards.
  2. Applying standards
    Ensuring effective design review and scrutiny across London, including establishing the London Review Panel.
  3. Building capacity
    Boosting the GLA group’s and boroughs’ ability and resources to shape new development. See how we are helping London local authorities to deliver good growth.
  4. Supporting diversity
    Working towards a sector that is more representative of London. We will strive for best practice while designing for diversity.
  5. Commissioning quality
    Ensuring excellence in how the Mayor and other public sector clients appoint and manage architects and other built environment professionals.
  6. Championing Good Growth
    Advocating best practice to support success across the sector.
What is Good Growth?

Good growth:

  • means building a more inclusive city and an inviting place to live, work and visit. This will help improve the health and wellbeing for all Londoners.
  • plans for a balanced mix of young and old, of people from different cultures and backgrounds, of housing tenures and workplaces. 
  • supports and enriches a city’s public and civic spaces along with the streets and routes that connect them. It takes a contextual approach. This allows for vitality and change whilst sustaining and strengthening the character of London’s existing neighbourhoods. 
  • allows Londoners to benefit from living actively. It uses the ‘Healthy Streets’ approach to reduce car dependency and enable people to walk, cycle and use public transport instead.
  • helps the city to work more efficiently by reducing car dominance. This helps make the best use of public space and ensures that essential freight traffic can help London’s businesses to thrive.
  • prioritises high-density, mixed-use developments to create a compact city in which communities are well connected. It means people do not have to depend on cars to get around and ensures the best use is made of scarce land.
  • is a partnership between the public and private sector. It takes a long-term approach to investment to yield the wider benefits of change.
  • ensures that London remains resilient to our changing climate and is green and healthy. It means clean air, easy access to green space, more efficient buildings supplied by cleaner energy, and a move towards zero emission transport.
  • enables everyone to fulfil their potential, by providing inclusive access to transport and other public services. It ensures that all communities see the benefits of growth and enables broader public participation in how the city changes.
View the programme outline

For more information or queries, please email us at: [email protected]

The Mayor’s Design Advocates and Advocate Organisations
London Review Panel
The London Quality Review Charter

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