On Friday 10 August, the eminent sociologist Professor Saskia Sassen delivered a keynote speech on ‘Cities: Crucibles of Change’ at City Hall, bringing to a close the Mayor of London 2012 Debates. Sassen’s talk charted London’s future as a global city, calling it “an urban vector of its own” in a world that she claims is increasingly driven by urban geopolitics. The fully booked talk was attended by members of the public as well as a high-level panel of respondents, including Professor Richard Sennett (LSE), Ed Metcalfe (Institut of Sustainability), Andrew Carter (Centre for Cities), Daniel Moylan (London Legacy Development Corporation) and Professor Ricky Burdett (LSE Cities), among others.
Other leading thinkers that had been previously invited into the debating chamber were Jim O’Neill (Chairman of Goldman Sachs), Matt Ridley (Science Writer) and Jimmy Wales (Founder of Wikipedia). The debate, which was webcast live (#LondonDebates) on the GLA website and broadcast internationally by CNBC, can now be watched here.