- The Evening Standard launched an initiative to make sure 'London remains the best place in the world'
- Focusing on the issues that matter to Londoners and how we can make a positive impact
In July, the Evening Standard's Future London project was launched.
“In the next two years, we’ll report regularly on progress in each area in special sections in the paper. Where businesses have supported us, we’ll make that clear on the page — we will also keep on saying what we think, reporting the truth and arguing what we believe needs to be done to make our city better...Future London is all about making a positive contribution to this great capital city.”Evening Standard
Future London's five big ideas:
- The Clean Air Project
We all want to breathe clean air, but after years of schemes and legal challenges, London’s roads still regularly breach emissions limits and poor air quality is a factor in 10,000 deaths a year. The UK has a deadline of 2040 to rid the roads of petrol and diesel vehicles, major contributors to the air’s toxicity. We believe London can go faster with bold thinking on electric vehicles and the plans to get our charging-point infrastructure up to speed.
That’s why today we are launching a new tool that Londoners can use to demonstrate demand by mapping where they want to see EV chargers. We are also looking to cities such as Oslo, Paris, Los Angeles and Shanghai for their solutions. We are also looking to residents, businesses and the government to work out how we can take practical steps to “green” our city.
2. The Health Project
Could London become the healthiest city in the world? Yes, we believe so, but only if we think big. We live in a 24-hour city, so why can’t we see a GP when we need one? The NHS in London is an incredible resource, a global leader in innovation and research. We are also home to some of the most groundbreaking tech companies in the world, leading in AI for patient care, management and diagnostics.
With this combination, a city the size of London could create a new dimension in healthcare through the wise use of data and technology. It should be a formula that allows the NHS to function better, while letting citizens take greater control of their health. In the course of the next two years, the Evening Standard will ask the question of what tech can do to help our doctors and nurses, and us.
3. The Skills Project
The world moves fast. Are we keeping up? Estimates show the UK has nine million unskilled workers competing for four million unskilled jobs, whereas there are only three million skilled workers competing for 15 million skilled jobs.
Many of our city’s professions require digital skills, which most of us do not have or have not updated. The Skills Project is for everyone to engage in new learning and upskilling, no matter at what level they are, and no matter what they do — whether they work in offices, run their own businesses or are looking to raise their game. Working together, the Google Digital Garage and the Evening Standard plan to provide free digital skills training to any Londoner who wants it. This will give our citizens the ability to develop themselves in step with a tech-led world, and live their ambitions.
4. The Plastic-Free Project
Since Sir David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II programme aired at Christmas last year, the question of plastics and sustainability has been high on the agenda. The Evening Standard began this year with a high-profile campaign to persuade many of London’s bars and cafés to abandon plastic straws in favour of biodegradable alternatives.
Now, we are building on that success with a project aimed at turning the area of Midtown — which includes Holborn, Bloomsbury, St Giles, Farringdon and Clerkenwell — into a beacon of sustainability. We will encourage good practices in the area’s cafés, restaurants, bars and shops and offices to show what is possible in the everyday busy working environment and during the commuter rush. The methods will be simple, the results should be inspiring.
5. The Culture City Project
London, our London. Sometimes you can forget just how special this city really is. London faces its challenges as any global city does — from crime to commuter pressure to the economic downturn on the high street with the advent of online shopping — but this capital remains an icon around the globe. The streets of London are alive with energy and culture. What are all those elements that come together to make the good things happen?
How do we nourish them? What makes the heart of London beat?
During this project we will examine what makes the beat go on, from the communities to the creatives, from shopping to bar-hopping. In the next two years we will inspire our readers and the many visitors to the capital to fall in love with their city centre again, and champion all those things that makes it thrive.
