What does London need?

[FurrySlipperBoots]

Following on from that thread about disappointing places, what would you do to make London better?

I would make smoking just anywhere on the street completely illegal, instead having small designated smoking booths you'd have to pay to enter. All the profits going to the NHS, as would the massive fines anyone caught smoking on the street would have to pay.

I'd make it much more cyclist friendly, like Copenhagen. It would also a legal requirement for every bike rider to wear a helmet!

I'd replace the diesel buses with trolly buses/trams.

I would have new buildings built in the style of the beautiful old Georgian architecture. The modern buildings are ugly and just clash horribly!

There need to be more window boxes with colourful flowers to counteract the grey! Compared to other cities I've been to there aren't a great deal of flowers.

Some sort of increased tax on London's super-rich. It seems so wrong that there are so many billionaires in the same city where people are sleeping on the streets.

I'd hugely tax bottled mineral water but provide fresh water dispensers on each street so people could just fill their reusable bottles.

If you had the power, what would you do to improve the capital city?

London has 33% public green space. Not sure how you make these more child friendly. As for it thinking it’s the centre of the universe, well it is in England but someplace has to be - England is small and not surprising that a lot is concentrated in one place. I love it it’s the best city in the world.

A ban on marches. Go and block off your own high streets for a change.

London needs less people, it is far too crowded, you can hardly move. We need to move some businesses out of London so other cities can attract young people.

Affordable housing. Controls on wealthy foreign investors buying property and then not living in it. Rent control legislation.

www.bigissue.com/latest/sadiq-khan-approves-100-water-fountains-across-london/
And london is 47% green
www.nationalparkcity.london

London needs the rest of the country to have better public transport infrastructure, cheap public transport and better incentives for companies not to base themselves just in the capital. How can we develop as a country if we only focus on one city? (I say this as a Londoner)

I would reduce all expenditure on public transport to be in proportion to the population, at the moment London gets more than everyone else put together. Feeling bitter having paid more than double a Londoner does per mile on the bus again which was stuck in traffic because we don't have suburban trains or trams, buses stop at 6pm on our route, started at 10.45 today - we are a city of 250k people!

@BuzzShitbagBobbly the sentence right below that literally says nobody wears helmets in Copenhagen ... They meant that helmets should be enforced in London, not that it is in Copenhagen.

London is one of the few areas of the country that didn't fall for Farage and the Brexit party and didn't fall for the lie that Brexit will somehow bring wealth, equality and prosperity for all.

Along with sharing wealth, job opportunities and transport budgets (and I agree it would be great if the rest of the country had more of these), maybe London can also share tolerance and a healthy skepticism of 'man of the people' politicians.

I'm not entirely happy as a Londoner that millions has been wasted on trying to find a workable Brexit deal. Money that could better be spent on housing, transport and infrastructure elsewhere.

One thing they should do is incentivise electric cars (disincentivise others) this would such a difference to air quality and noise.

Secondly do something about the dog poo problem. Ban dogs from some green spaces. Introduce fenced dog only areas. High dog registration fees and high fines for those who don't register them. Don't allow more than 2 dogs per residence.

Thirdly is there some way to encourage homeowners not to concrete and pave up their gardens. I walk through and streets and everywhere is paved and concreted. The soil underneath is a natural environment with living organisms and it's seems cruel and senseless to pave over and deny so many square miles of earth fresh air and rainfall. Maybe a council tax discount if you have a green patch?

How predictable.

Although it must be a record that it took one post for it to become a London bashing thread

Heavily subsidised housing for nurses, teachers, HCPs etc. Ending "buy to leave". More police on the streets to tackle gang violence. A citywide initiative to get teens off the streets and keep them out of trouble. Cheaper public transport.