The City of London urgently needs a cultural strategy – with architecture at its heart

The announcement that Universal Studios in Bedfordshire is going ahead has prompted a great deal of excitement.

The country’s most senior politicians have celebrated the arrival of the proposed £5 billion theme park, and we have heard about visitor numbers, economic growth, jobs, tourism and international profile. All worthwhile ambitions.

But why are we so focused on creating a new visitor destination when one of the world’s greatest cultural destinations already exists, yet isn’t properly fulfilling its promise – the City of London.

The comparison highlights something curious about the way Britain thinks about culture and place. We seem far more comfortable investing in the creation of new attractions than recognising the extraordinary value of those we already possess.

The City contains one of the most remarkable collections of architecture, public spaces and historic environments anywhere in the world. Within a relatively compact area, visitors can experience nearly 2,000 years of urban evolution, from Roman remains and medieval churches, to Victorian engineering and some of the most ambitious contemporary architecture on the planet.

Generations of architects, engineers, craftspeople, merchants, institutions and communities have collectively created something extraordinary in the square mile and, unlike a theme park, it is entirely real.

Its stories are authentic. Its history is lived. Its streets reveal layer upon layer of human ambition, ingenuity, conflict, faith, commerce and reinvention. Yet despite this, architecture and the built environment continue to sit surprisingly low in our cultural thinking.

That feels like a missed opportunity. It is precisely why The London Society has recently led a collective response to the City of London Corporation’s Cultural Strategy consultation, bringing together organisations and individuals who share a belief that architecture and the built environment should sit much closer to the heart of the City’s cultural offer. Our argument is a simple one: architecture is not a specialist interest.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people attend the Open House Festival. The London Festival of Architecture continues to grow. Visitors queue to enter buildings, explore neighbourhoods and discover the stories behind the places around them. What is currently missing is not public demand; it is coordination, ambition and year-round delivery.

The City already possesses many of the ingredients required to create a world-leading cultural programme centred on architecture and place. The London Centre, Open City, the NLA, the RIBA, the London Society, Blue Badge Guides, Livery Halls, cultural institutions and building owners all contribute valuable pieces of the puzzle.

But we have yet to bring them together into a coherent proposition.

Imagine if we treated architecture with the same seriousness that we apply to other cultural sectors.

Imagine if visitors could access a coordinated programme of tours, talks, exhibitions and open buildings throughout the year. If every significant building, public space, alleyway and route helped tell part of a larger story about London and Britain? If the City’s streets themselves were recognised as one of the country’s greatest cultural assets.

The economic benefits would follow naturally. Longer dwell times. More repeat visits. Greater footfall for cafés, restaurants and local businesses. Stronger civic identity. Better public understanding of how cities evolve and function. Open City already has the data that shows this to be true.

Most importantly, we would be making better use of a cultural asset that previous generations have already invested centuries in creating.

It’s surely right that Britain should be ambitious and invest in new destinations. But perhaps the greatest opportunity is not always to build something new. Let’s look at what we already have and finally recognise its value.

The City of London is not a museum. It is a living, evolving urban landscape that tells the story of Britain better than almost anywhere else. The question is whether we are prepared to start treating it as one of our greatest cultural assets

Leanne Tritton is chair of The London Society