Re-imagining the city

What makes a city great? For me,  in terms of built environment, it's not the gleaming glass skyscrapers or sterile modern squares, but the secret shortcuts and the slightly scruffy cool spots. And in terms of people, though many of my friends  (and me!) show up in business attire every day, I love the mix of folk over corporate clones. If you know the Square Mile, this is why EC4 beats EC2 hands down.

The other point, though, is that cities are bustling, restless places full of energy. The successful ones reinvent themselves constantly. One of the reasons London draws people to it from all over the world is that it keep changing. Whether they come meaning to stay for a few years before going home, or come intending to make it home, they share London's ambition.  The City Corporation understand this - I'd love to see more small businesses and the arts  here, with "porous buildings" allowing people and ideas to socialise.  

This creates knotty problems for lawyers. We property lawyers are wedded to leases which grant exclusive possession, also described as the right to exclude all others. However if an institution as venerable as the City Corporation can re-think how it works, I'm sure the legal profession can rise to the challenge.