The Making of a Modern City

"We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us." - Winston Churchill

London has an unmatched range of buildings: important historic icons exciting new skyscrapers have competed for attention in recent years.

If you are interested in architecture and urban planning, this tour explains the history of the forces which shaped modern London: the grand plans, visionary engineers and local communities which made the capital great.

With an authentic vintage map as our reference, you'll come to understand how London's streets, squares, parks and distinct districts have evolved by peeking back at the layers of history which are less visible.

I'm running tours to share my passion while having fun. I grew up in London and studied geography at Cambridge, urban planning at Harvard. Having lived and worked in the US, I now work researching the built environment for the Royal Society of Arts.

We'll start in the heart of the city and walk east. We'll do 5-10 minutes of walking followed by short breaks to talk, discuss, and take pictures. We'll use the city as a classroom and explore:

• Londinium: a glimpse at Roman London which lies beneath
• Cheapside: the heart of Medieval London
• Victorian grandeur: infrastructure for an imperial metropolis
• World War Two: transforming the cityscape
• Finance and starchitecture: 21st century skyscrapers
• World firsts: theatres, tunnels, and the world's first social housing project

While you'll get a glimpse of many of London's famous sites along the way (including Big Ben, St. Pauls Cathedral and Tower Bridge), we'll go to quiet streets which are hard to find, and we'll talk about London's social history as lived by Londoners: its global immigrants, rich and poor.

This tour involves 4 miles of walking and a short tube ride. Don't worry, you'll be fuelled by a stop for coffee and my stash of homemade scones.