‘I love London, and I want it to be here long after I’m gone’

In a small corner of a wood-paneled room on the top floor of the former County Hall on the south bank of the Thames, Boris Johnson is striking a serious pose for the camera. All but this small part of the room is packed with huge, oversized toys: wooden soldiers, a dinosaur, skittles. But Johnson’s people will not allow him anywhere near them, lest he be snapped next to a gigantic teddy bear, and his carefully built new image of a weighty politician and proponent for change be undermined. The message is this: Boris means business; none of the bumbling, floppy-haired caricature of old.

The London mayor elections, in which Johnson is standing for the Conservatives against the incumbent Labour holder Ken Livingstone, take place on 1 May. In a pre-manifesto interview, Johnson talks to Regenerate about his polices on sustainability, the hell of high rise, cycling and recycling, affordable homes, the Olympics and how even the low paid should live in beautiful homes.

What do you think of the development community and the type of development now taking place in London?

What we build now will have a massive impact on how our city will look like and feel like for generations to come. I am troubled, for example, that the London Plan defines affordable housing as “decent” and “appropriate”, not exactly the stuff of an estate agents window. I would like to concentrate on helping people on low incomes to live in London in beautiful homes of all kinds and of all prices, and by using a variety of financial keys to the doors.

When asked, most Londoners don’t want to live in high-rise blocks of flats. So why is the last Victorian terrace in the Isle of Dogs being torn down to be replaced by a high-rise with more rooms per hectare than any other housing in London? Why are Transport for London and the London Development Agency knocking down Georgian terraces and the Dalston Theatre to build another phallocratic tower block? I don’t just say this to make some romantic appeal for beauty for its own sake. All the evidence suggests that when people live in an ugly and dispiriting environment, they will do nothing to respect their surroundings. We have to move towards a future where we concentrate on the quality of our housing as much as the quantity of our housing.

How important is environmental sustainability to you?

I love London, and I want it to be here long after I’m gone. So we all have a duty to make the small changes in our lives; it requires action from every Londoner to make sure that our city is sustainable. That means housing with better insulation, buses that run on cleaner fuel and encouraging more people to cycle. I also want to work with the boroughs to improve London’s recycling rates and make it easier to recycle.

Will you stick with the tough renewable energy targets for new building developments set by the current mayor (10% rising to 20%)?

‘New developments need to provide more renewable energy, but I will keep an open mind how to achieve this. I favour a more carrot, less stick approach’

One major difference between the current mayor and me is that he believes the only way to achieve something is to impose a target for it. I agree that new developments need to provide more renewable energy, but I will keep an open mind as to how we achieve this. I favour a more carrot, less stick approach.

As you have pointed out, London is among the worst cities in the country for recycling. How would you improve London’s record on this?

The key is to make recycling a normal, everyday exercise and that means we have to make it easier. I will work with individual boroughs to improve re-cycling and make it more convenient. Setting targets and bullying councils is just another example of the mayor’s out-of-date approach. We need to move on, and that means co-operating and sharing best practice.

You have called for fresh ideas to solve the city’s affordable housing crisis. What are yours?

We have to move away from the tired approach of bullying and berating. Setting targets that even the mayor himself often ignores achieves nothing. We have a lower percentage of affordable housing today than we had before London had a mayor. Since 2000, there has been almost a doubling of the number of Londoners on housing waiting lists. The current approach clearly isn’t working. I propose to work with councils to encourage them to build more affordable homes year in, year out.

You have promised better designed housing estates but how would you go about this?

The first thing I will do is amend the London Plan so that designing out crime is a higher priority than it is now. There is clear evidence that better designed housing estates are safer and more pleasant places to live, and it’s a simple case of more lighting, secure access, and more green spaces. It’s not rocket science.

Do you like tall buildings?

‘We seem to be in the grip of barbarians who are determined to knock down venerable buildings – Victorian police stations and swimming baths – when people’s instinct is to preserve and restore’

I’m not a skyscraper fanatic, and we know that most Londoners do not want to live in high rise blocks of flats. A fresh approach is to let local people decide. We seem to be in the grip of barbarians who are determined to knock down venerable buildings – Victorian police stations and swimming baths – when people’s instinct is to preserve and restore. Even when the case for demolition is irresistible, the current regime seems all too often content to put drab and featureless blocks in their place. I will protect London’s historic views.

What do you think about the Olympics? What are the best aspects of it for you? How will you ensure that the regeneration of the Stratford area is a success?

The greatest city in the world is the perfect place to hold the greatest sporting event in the world. I think the best aspect is that it has the potential to get kids into sport, which is what we should be looking at to tackle the current knife and gun crime epidemic. My main concern is that London gets a legacy; that means housing, transport, jobs and more sports facilities. Stratford is a key part of that, and I will be a demanding mayor when it comes to Olympic regeneration.

How important to you is it to have a ‘green’ Olympics?

Very. The world will be watching London, and if we are serious about playing a leading role in tackling climate change, then we need to set a high example. I will focus on improving air quality, and making sure as many people as possible are able to cycle to the Games.

A lot of our readers work in housing and regeneration – what message do you have for them?

Keep working, you’re doing a fantastic job, and never forget: the quality of housing matters as much as the quantity. You are being let down by a bunch of interfering politicians who impose pointless rules and restrictions upon you. The mayoral elections are an opportunity for you to design and build a more beautiful London.