London is one of the world’s most creative cities. Its thriving cultural and technological sectors contribute to the city’s economic bottom line, while also making it a great and exciting place to live.

Creativity has come to define particular areas such as Hoxton, Hackney and in recent years parts of south London, attracting people from all over the world. But how do particular areas – and a city as a whole – become creative? Can creativity be planned for through policy or design? Should we try to protect creative places or do they have their own ‘natural’ lifecycles? Our panel discuss.

Panel:

Will Alsop RA – Director, aLL Design; Founder, TESTBED 1

Mike Butcher – Editor at Large, TechCrunch

Vanessa Jackson – Artist

Munira Mirza – Deputy Mayor of London for Education and Culture

Andy Pratt – Professor of Cultural Economy, City University London

Tom Fleming (chair) – Director, Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy