Mike just posted some excellent photos of soon to be gone brownfields and industrial sites in Greenwich:

«There's a little-used but really interesting walk that runs from the Millennium Dome (or 'The O2' or whatever it's now called) along a riverside path into Greenwich. The walk breezes past acres of empty, deserted land and disused quays that will, no doubt, soon be sprouting ghastly developments galore.»

www.urban75.org

Interesting discussions are currently going on in the UK raised by the uncertain future of Robin Hood Gardens estate in London (built by the Smithsons).
One of the more interesting quotes is from Stephen Bayley in the Observer in his rather good piece on "brutal architecture", titled "You want the brutal truth? Concrete can be beautiful" :

"...Worse, the unintelligent housing policies of Tower Hamlets populated Robin Hood Gardens with the tenants least likely to be able to make sensible use of the accommodation. We have to whisper it, but the Unité d'Habitation works because it is populated by teachers, psychologists, doctors, graphic designers, not by single mothers struggling with buggies."

Bayley is somewhat harsh on the tennents there, and I doubt he's been speaking to them. Yet I think there may be some truth in his statement.
Dan Hill has a good and thorough post on the issue, highlighting different aspects and oppinions on city of sound: "Robin Hood Gardens is not the same as a digital model of Robin Hood Gardens..." read on.

Picture by John Levett

At least a dozen British towns and cities will have no single ethnic group in a majority within the next 30 years. Leicester will become the first 'super-diverse' city in 2020, then Birmingham in 2024, followed by Slough and Luton, according to a new study of population trends in the UK. The report reveals that Leicester has seen the proportion of its white population fall (...)

Guardian Unlimited, Sunday December 23 2007
Amelia Hill, social affairs correspondent