Building Strong Communities

Suggested by geoffr 20 March

0 comments
Last activity 3 years ago

In December 2018, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, announced six London boroughs would be designated as Creative Enterprise Zones with the aim of supporting individuals, entrepreneurs and creative businesses to start, grow and thrive in the capital. This scheme be remodelled and applied to create Community Food Enterprise Zones across the capital. In the short term, I think a local Community Food Enterprise Zone scheme could help: · co-ordinate community food and meal distribution · identify and liaise with landlords, schools, colleges, restaurants, cafes forced to close and broker meanwhile use opportunities for community food projects in need of kitchen space · help co-ordinate borough, town or city-wide emergency food support to vulnerable people · share good practice and resources to help businesses and charities through the crisis In the longer term · support local food, hospitality and catering businesses back into trading ·create a local Community Development Finance Institute (CDFI) to help fund business, social enterprises and individuals in the food, hospitality and catering industries · provide community cooking classes and training unemployed and vulnerable groups in hospitality · provide a map of local kitchen space to help food entrepreneurs and social enterprises trade from · help shape local food policies and processes to help prepare and plan for more robust and joined up food systems · help to deliver the Mayor of London’s London Food Strategy and Sustain UK’s wider Sustainable Food Cities initiative as well as a few of the 9 missions and the High Streets For All Challenge

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I think that every borough in London should have at least one (1) community fridge. This is to reduce food waste in the local area and to build solidarity in regards to food insecurity and decrease the stigma against having not enough money for food. There aren't many community fridge's around London which I think is appalling as it would be so beneficial for many families and individuals.

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Most of London's famous bridges are in a sorry state: Vauxhall, Lambeth and Westminster Bridges are good examples: covered in graffiti, fly posters and general in need of a repaint. The effect is making the riverfront look down at heel.

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The idea would be to create an incentive to add greenery to flat roofs across the City as well as adding it automatically to public buildings. As well as absorbing pollutants and carbon dioxide directly, green roofs reduce the "heat island" effect of concrete heating up cities in the summer meaning there is less need for air conditioning. They also provide habitat for insects and bird life.

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As you walk along the canals of Paddington London towards outer London, like Southall, Hayes, Uxbridge you can notice a great difference in the presentation, general up keep and cleanliness of canal pathways. From nice laid out pathways leading to derelict forgotten, ‘don’t even think about it’ pathways. As part of the general regeneration programme around the Hillingdon borough, I feel that the focus has been in big areas like high streets and big green parks. Often they forget small green spaces, like the canals. It would be great to have these areas to be better looked after. Add a bit more variety of plants and wild flowers as you walk/cycle along it. Convert some lengthy sections local allotments for people to use. Increase bins and signage. Not only would it encourage local wildlife to flourish more, this would encourage people to explore more, have a sense of community, and make these areas less scary. I feel these areas are often used as squatting areas, people linger here and often a an place for anti social behaviour to occur. It deters people from walking and exploring these areas. It would be nice for canals to be more appealing so there is sense of community among those people who live in canal boats as well as the people who live in houses and flats. Small changes, can lead to big ones... perhaps a ‘canal clean up’ project to be lead by the boroughs? I’d volunteer.

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Suggested by gmg57 19 March

8 comments
Last activity 3 years ago

Before increasing the number of cyclists on London roads we should surely review the practical problems. It would be sensible for all cyclists to have to undertake training so they understand the rules of the road and don’t inadvertently create a problem for themselves or others. This can only increase cyclist safety. Furthermore, cyclists should be required to wear hi-viz with a licence number clearly displayed and also shown on the bike frame. I have lost count of the number of times a cyclist has whizzed through a red light just as I or someone else steps out to cross the road for example. We are all aware that people have been knocked down and seriously hurt but there is no way to identify the culprit who has simply pedalled off. If a car, we can note the number plate. It would also mean cyclists could financially contribute in the same way that car owners are expected to. Not to the same extent but cycle lanes need to be maintained too for example.

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Suggested by 1968 19 March

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Last activity 3 years ago

More attention should be paid on cleanliness of the areas which are not major roads and make it pleasant for the residents and visitors. This can be achieved by cleaning roads and streets every other day. This will also benefit as their will be less vermin in the areas and hopefully cleaner areas wii result in better health for the residents.

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Suggested by ewc 19 March

1 comment
Last activity 3 years ago

There is a planning law that says that front gardens in London should not be impermeable. No-one enforces this except perhaps in Conservation area. We need local representatives to have the right authority to notify residents/owners when they start to pave that they are in breach of the law; and for Councils and representatives of the London Govt to come along and enforce this law. If necessary ensuring that the front garden is paved suitable with permeable surfaces and planted areas. Local Councils don't have enough planning enforcers at present ... If all the front gardens in London became permeable, just think of all the ground water that would water the trees! And how trees roots would not disturb paving as they search for roots. An additional point on trees - most are planted in too small a pit. Double or treble the pit sizes so that the roots could obtain sufficient water not to disturb paving.

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Suggested by keela319 19 March

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Last activity 3 years ago

Preserve the conservation areas: 1.Stop "Waze" directing traffic away from the A roads down unsuitable B roads (such as Carleton Road and Dalmeny Road) 2. Stop overdevelopment in and around the area (including that immediately outside, bordering the area) 3. Fence off more areas for dense shrubs and small plants to support insects and small birds. 4. Stop overzealous pruning and pollarding of trees in the area 5. Curtail the overzealous moped deliveries ("gig economy"): Whatever they deliver, they are entirely absent when Police are present, so there is doubt they contribute to a mainstream economy.

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Suggested by Lyndyloo 19 March

9 comments
Last activity 3 years ago

I think the best thing for Oxford Street is to immediately stop the further pavement widening. This is going to cause terrible pollution and congestion. You are removing the indents where buses and taxis pickup and alight passengers. This will cause all other traffic to queue behind causing even more pollution. Plus there are going to be far fewer pedestrians visiting Oxford Street as there are only two large shops left, Selfridges and John Lewis. (apparently House of Frazer is the next to leave). If the empty shops are going to be taken over by smaller outlets such as can be seen in every high street and shopping centre there is absolutely no need for people to come into Oxford Street anymore. I have also heard that buses will only stop once in Oxford Street, this is another ridiculous plan. What about the disabled, elderly, mums with young children? A lot of traffic will use Wigmore Street and other surrounding streets in order to dodge the congested Oxford Street as it will become. These side streets are heavily populated by residents who will be subjected to more pollution.

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I'd love to see a total, radical change regarding cars in the streets of my neighbourhood. I'd love to see the closure of the narrower streets to traffic, and convert them in green areas with trees, and relaxing and healthy walking paths with a safe lane for cycles and scooters. I'd also love to see much more of those in the streets replacing cars and buses, with a change in the regulations to allow the use of private scooters safely: helmet, only in cycle/scooter lanes, and following the traffic signage to cross streets. In big parks, create an area with free allotments where the neighbours can gather and grow their own food. These allotments could be asigned by the council to people with specific conditions, elderly or for wellbeing reasons.

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Suggested by AJPembo 19 March

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Last activity 3 years ago

sat nav, google maps etc has transformed how people drive - it's now routine for all vehicles, from HGVs to personal cars to try and shave minutes of their journeys by take short-cuts down residential streets that were not designed to take that volume of traffic. Overrides/agreements should be put in place so that commercial vehicles stick to the major route unless their journey requires them to. It'll be much safer and cleaner for everyone and probably quicker as well - large vehicles turning into and out of small junctions must slow up traffic considerable. There may be further savings from having to repair minor and side roads less

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Suggested by suze 19 March

1 comment
Last activity 3 years ago

TRAMS :I would love to see trams replace the cities use of cars - they are electric, regular, easy to access for all - (check out Montpellier's city centre -no cars many interconnecting tramways) - and their tracks can be underplanted with grass - the greening on the roads. TREES : London is pretty green for a city - but there are entire streets/highstreets and especially around the towering newbuilds that leave no centimetre between the building and the pavement (they should be forced to create a green belt around their towers (see the fantastic 1958 towers on the Brandon Estate, SE17 that were conceived with the space around them as part of their design). Trees should be planted in all front gardens, all green spaces should have more trees planted and the harsh pollarding of council trees banned. All front and back gardens should not be allowed to be paved over - or a % left for plants. The THAMES PATHWAY should be expanded and extended on both sides of the river to allow pedestrians and cyclists to walk/cycle without bumping into each other - all along the length of the Thames throughout the city - think Turin/ New York / Singapore/ Seoul - make the city sing with space for movement - the lockdown has made us trapped in a city with pockets for parks - make green pathways between neighbourhoods (top of Burgess park to Peckham is a perfect example. Greening the city, taking out the cars and replacing them with trams, give people the chance to move around the city without being polluted. FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORT FOR ALL. BAN POOR DOORS IN THE CITY - no more highrise developments that suck out the light and life out of the city. Vauxhall is one of the worst city scapes in the world. A disaster!

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Suggested by VK 19 March

1 comment
Last activity 3 years ago

TO create nurseries within an elderly retirement community. Its already been done in Nottingham very successfully. In 2017, an experiment inspired by a revolutionary American scheme brought together the very young and the very old in an attempt to prove scientifically that these two generations can transform the physical, social and emotional wellbeing of the older residents for the better All information can be found at Lark Hill Village which is operated The ExtraCare Charitable Trust.

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Suggested by bumblebee 19 March

1 comment
Last activity 3 years ago

It is illegal to idle in London, but very few drivers seem aware of this in London. There needs to be a big city wide campaign to get the message across to STOP IDLING. An idling engine can produce up to twice the emissions of a car in motion, churning out sulphur dioxide, particulate matter and nitrogen oxide and it is completely avoidable! People just have to be educated. Signs should go up througout the capital. Traffic Wardens should start telling drivers. The public should feel empowered to tell drivers to switch off their engines. Idling in Hackney is a particularly big problem.

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Suggested by ad.mitchell 19 March

2 comments
Last activity 3 years ago

More accessible than having to go into a cafe, these could be sprinkled around the community.

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Trees add enormously to the quality of city life. They make cities look more friendly less aggressive places. They provide shade, cooling the air temperature on hot days. They help improve the air quality provide food and shelter for wildlife. They make us happier and healthier so we should give them a much greater priority. And this means money, commitment, education and imagination. We need to think about trees as part of the essential structure of our city not an occasional add on. Roads and pavements could be designed to allow proper space for trees, maybe roads could be renamed after the tree species planted in them!

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Suggested by NSinclair 18 March

3 comments
Last activity 3 years ago

Design young people into the city! Work with YP to design accessible and informal safe youth spaces where YP can spend time (without necessarily having scheduled things to do!) - using vacant building and meanwhile use

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Many older neighbourhoods have small local (non-high street) shopping areas tucked into them. Unfortunately many of these shop fronts have been converted to residences (such as the north end of Petherton Rd), depriving residents of convenient local businesses that can easily be reached on foot or by bike. The result is more people driving to large superstores (a horrible use of urban space with their giant parking lots). Planning laws should be changed to dis-allow conversion of local retail to residential, as well as requiring residences that were formerly retail to be returned to retail when next sold. As a fallback the council could buy the space and rent it at reduced rates to new local businesses such as small grocers, restaurants or even local delivery hubs to cut down on vehicle journeys. This could be a hyper-local version of Paris’s 15 minute city. Allowing local residents to fulfill the majority of their needs in their neighbourhoods would both reduce traffic and foster more community - encouraging people to get to know their neighbours and shopkeepers.

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Suggested by Besiii 18 March

2 comments
Last activity 3 years ago

I think we have all noticed all the taps in public parks and streets however none of them seem to be working? I think we should make them useful and actually get them to work. During summer we get really thirsty including our pets and sometimes we don’t always have shops available near us or even money on us. We are surrounded by so many statues and water taps which have all become useless and just rotting away. Having more free water available will not only make us more healthier but it will also be very good for dogs, people who exercise, little kids and even wild animals like birds and squirrels. Summer heat can be difficult for humans but it’s just as same for animals. And some parks do have drinking water but it’s only one in a massive park or rarely any.

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