About the Authors

Peter Bishop

Peter trained in town planning at The University of Manchester and has spent his entire career working in London. Over the past 25 years he has been a planning director in four different Central London boroughs and has worked on major projects including Canary Wharf and the development of the BBC’s campus at White City. Between 2001 and 2006 he was director of environment at the London Borough of Camden, where he was responsible for the negotiations with Argent on the King’s Cross development.

In 2007 he was appointed as the first director of Design for London, the Mayor of London’s architecture and design studio. He is currently professor of urban design at the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London and a director at Allies and Morrison. He is a visiting professor at the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment at Nottingham Trent University, and an honorary fellow of both University College London and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Lesley Williams

Lesley trained in environmental sciences and later in town planning at the Bartlett School of Architecture. She has worked for the Civic Trust, CAG Consultants and the Environment Trust. For the past 15 years, as a freelance consultant, she has specialised in the design and facilitation of stakeholder involvement processes, consensus building and partnership development. She currently works as a writer and sculptor.

The authors’ previous book, The Temporary City, explored the drivers behind pop-ups and urban strategies for temporary uses and was published by Routledge in 2012.