London

Abstract

This entry discusses the main aspects of London’s development since the expansion of the British empire in the nineteenth century. The keys to the city’s transformation from imperial to postimperial urban center in the mid-twentieth century are highlighted in the first section. The entry then reviews restructuring and globalization in London starting in the 1970s, a set of processes that significantly altered the city’s socioeconomic structure. During those years, London became a city at the top of the global hierarchy and a center of command for the global financial economy, and it still plays these roles today. The entry goes on to discuss urban megaprojects in London, which have long shaped the city’s physical form and, importantly, influenced its economy. Some of the main contemporary megaprojects in the city are Thames Gateway, Battersea Power Station redevelopment, Kings Cross redevelopment, East–West Crossrail and DP World London Gateway. The entry concludes with a reflection on the challenges and prospects for the British capital in its role as a quintessential global city.