21st Century Challenges

London under water

June 2008

What is the threat of flooding to London’s people and infrastructure? How will current defences cope with enhanced flood risk to the capital over the next 30 years?

Watch the talks

What is at risk if London floods?

How will we face up to the challenge of increased flooding risk in the future?

The Thames Barrier

Find out more about the Thames
Barrier, which protects over 1.2m
people from the risk of tidal flooding
in London

The Thames Gateway

Europe’s largest regeneration project, stretching 40 miles along the Thames Estuary

Immigration tops London concerns

Immigration is the issue most Londoners are worried about for the next five years, a survey has shown.

Boris Johnson to end London’s hobbit habit with 50,000 new homes

The Mayor of London refused to scale back his housing targets despite gloom in the sector, because while times were “incredibly difficult”, it “doesn’t mean for a second that we should abandon our ambitions”.

London exodus as Australians return home for jobs and sun

For the first time in more than three decades,  record numbers of Australians are leaving Britain and its economic gloom for better job opportunities

‘Big rise’ in illegal immigrants

The UK could be home to almost three-quarters of a million illegal immigrants, a study for London Mayor Boris Johnson suggests.

Record migration into Britain is result of Government policy failings

Record migration into Britain is a result of a failure of Government policies to control the borders since 1991, a new report claims.

Sea rise ‘to exceed projections’

The global sea level looks set to rise far higher than forecast because of changes in the polar ice-sheets, a team of researchers has suggested.

Radical sea defence rethink urged

Rising sea levels and an increase in the frequency of storms could leave many UK coastal areas vulnerable to extreme flooding, a report has warned. The project's findings, which include sketches and details of the proposed "new cities", will be presented in a exhibition that will visit London, Portsmouth and Kingston-upon-Hull.