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The classy Stephen Bayley in the Observer:

How will London look if Ken's scheming endures or Boris's or Brian's schemes succeed his? It will be less polluted, whoever wins. Livingstone's form we know: big promises, small deliveries and more tall buildings. Probably more logos, workshops and units too. Boris speaks airily of a leafy Elysium with a return to human-scale architectural quality he will invigilate from his bike. Paddick will advertise and decentralise.

Architecture is more important than politics because nothing has so much influence on people's behaviour as their surroundings. Do all the candidates appreciate this? There's an entry in The Penguin Dictionary of Twentieth Century Quotations which I know well because it's by me. 'Civilisations are remembered by their artefacts, not their bank rates.' That was from The Observer 22 years ago, but worth repeating on 1 May.

Tags — Society