Inspiration of the week: Bow Arts

More than 100 artists have found affordable studio space and are helping to regenerate London’s east end, thanks to a unique collaboration with the registered social landlord Poplar HARCA. The scheme runs in Tower Hamlets, one of the poorest wards in the country, where HARCA had a growing number of redundant flats that had become [...]

Inspiration of the week: Bankside Open Spaces Trust

A boring shrubbery that once provided cover for antisocial behaviour was transformed into a haven for wildlife through the work of the Bankside Open Services Trust (BOST) and its many partners in the local community. The garden at Christ Church on Blackfriars Road in Southwark, south London now features a huge range of plants that [...]

Why ‘here be dragons’ won’t do for our cities

Ancient cartographers had a fine way of dealing with lands beyond their knowledge. They’d write ‘here be dragons’, often accompanied by an appropriate illustration. In a world where every inch is mapped by satellite, every idea (barmy or otherwise) to be found somewhere on the internet, and more information than any of us can ever [...]