Agora - Cities for People - presentation at the 11th World Triennial of Architecture, Interarch '06 Sofia, Bulgaria

The two panels visually summarise the Agora - Cities for People methodology for sustainable urban design.

Agora: Cities for People was a 3 year research project involving the European cities of London, Barcelona, Malmo and Utrecht. Each research team chose a specific site, within their city, to explore the usability of that area, examining how the nature of urban living and impact of human activity works within the spatial context, how the cityscape affects the urban flow of people and how the existing form of the urban landscape can be improved for future usage. The London site stretched from the Globe Theatre on the south bank of the River Thames westwards along Bankside, over Hungerford Bridge towards Trafalgar Square. The main focus of research concentrated on this area of regeneration due to the growth of cultural institutions within the zone and consequent tourist activity.

London has always had the most profound relationship with its river. In its period of buoyancy and social development the capital has reinvented itself through its relationship with the Thames. This was the case in Elizabethan times, and it appears to be the case again today. After the development of the Docklands and the South bank, current debate on Thames Gateway focuses once more on London expanding along its fluvial origins.