Making London’s infrastructure more inclusive won’t happen by chance

People are what make a city thrive. But if the built environment and infrastructure is not designed with all citizens in mind, that potential to flourish is reduced and parts of society are marginalised. The new Making London’s infrastructure and communities more inclusive report, that we have produced jointly with Transport for London (TfL) and Places for London, aims to support business leaders, decision makers, project managers and designers to create cities that are for everyone.

Considering social outcomes in everything we do goes to the very heart of our purpose at Mott MacDonald. We have been improving the lives of Londoners for over 100 years, from designing and expanding London’s tube in the 1900s through to delivery of the Elizabeth line today. Using this deep knowledge of London’s infrastructure sector and our drive to create more inclusive places, this report champions the very best of inclusive practices and shows how they can improve societal outcomes in our city.

Like many cities around the world, London is grappling with acute social challenges associated with inequality. Infrastructure and the wider built environment has a key role to play in overcoming these issues. Yet despite many people advocating for social inclusion, it can still be challenging to put inclusive aspirations into action in our current system. I believe what is needed is a mindset shift, and this is what we set out to explore through the creation of this report.

The starting point was to ask how best to support investors and those who deliver projects to drive inclusivity through their work. We set out to answer this through a round table discussion with TfL, Places for London, the Greater London Authority (GLA) and fellow members of the Mayor of London’s Infrastructure Advisory Panel earlier this year.

These challenges aren't unique to London, of course, so building on that discussion, public and private sector organisations from across the UK joined us in a workshop at the UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) in May to reflect on this through a national lens.

A key issue identified by everyone involved in developing this report was that the connection – and potential benefits - between long-term prosperity and putting people at the centre of urban development decisions is still unclear. This means that investments in things like deeper engagement and more community assets are often given a low priority when decisions are being made.

What is clear, is that the tools to have an impact already exist, but we need to create a shift in mindset at every level in how we embed them. We must find a way to bring the pride we have in the outcomes our projects deliver for the people who use them, into the start of any project thinking, to establish how we influence the maximum benefits to this legacy.

It is clear that no one person or group can improve inclusivity – it will take action from everyone involved.

It is clear that no one person or group can improve inclusivity – it will take action from everyone involved. This report has recommendations backed up by case studies that are aimed at business leaders and project teams, but there is also guidance on how the GLA’s London Plan could better support an increased focus on social inclusion and inclusive design.

Summary of recommendations

For business leaders:

• Create an outcomes-driven mindset within organisations
• Consider mechanisms to encourage holistic thinking
• Commit to cross-sector data extraction and sharing
• Share personal stories

For designers and project managers:

• Embed social inclusion into projects from the outset
• Take a long-term approach to community engagement.

For the GLA and London Plan:

• Embed genuine valuation of social inclusion in the London Plan
• Drive inclusive design in the boroughs
• Increase the focus on income inequality.

The infrastructure, buildings and public spaces should be there to make a city liveable for every person, whatever their ability and background. I believe that following the recommendations in this report will bring us much closer to achieving that goal.

As an industry, we are in the lucky position to make this a reality. We’ve come a long way but it’s time we turned aspiration into consistent action.

Read our inclusivity report to understand how you and your company can make your projects – in London, or any urban area – more socially inclusive.