London is one of the biggest cities in the world; it is a massive player in the world’s finance, fashion, business, party, retail and social media industries. It’s a place  where dreams can be made and literally anything can happen! But even though London has an unlistable amount of good points and amazing opportunities, it’s not perfect.

So on 24 February 2010, to compliment the launch of The Hub, we also unveiled a new initiative called ‘Co-Create London’. This is aimed at addressing the Capital’s main issues and annoyances by listening to the people who know the City best – the general public. Whether they’ve lived In London their whole life or just passed through, Co-Create London is asking people to answer a very simple question – ‘What Would You Do To make London A Better Place?’.

In just 3 weeks we’ve had loads of buzz worldwide; people have approached us from other countries asking about rolling it out in their cities and we have been covered across all the London blogs.

To date we’ve received over 300 ideas and 3000 votes on a vast range of topics including transport, crime, poverty, education and the environment.  A couple of weeks ago we ran a Co-Creation workshop bringing together Londoners who have contributed to the Cocreatelondon.com website with experts to turn their ideas into positive and real solutions.

The aim is to continue the process of idea generation through crowdsourcing and co-creation workshops as well as to spend time honing concepts into well thought through solutions that can be implemented. These will go to a public online vote, with the idea that the solutions obtaining the most votes presented to London Mayor Boris Johnson.

The outputs from the workshop, which were presented on Thursday at the London Co-Creation Hub launch, can be seen below.

BeSpoke Lanes – Cycle Paths running along side railway lines

Cycling in London is very dangerous and a lot of people are put off the pedal as they are scared of cycling on the streets. Railway lines provide direct access to the city and some of them have enough room to incorporate a cycle lane running alongside them.

BeSpoke Lanes work as cycling highways running alongside railway lines. By paying a small amount via your Oyster card at the beginning of your journey you can access the BeSpoke cycling lane. This money goes towards the upkeep of the cycle lanes via adopt-a-mile groups. The adopt-a-mile groups look after a certain section of the cycle path ensuring its upkeep and keeping the area clean and tidy.

Youth clubs and local artists can also get involved and make the BeSpoke Lanes look great, there is also potential for advertising space. It will rejuvenate the rail side and provide a safe route for people to access the London from its outer limits.

Enterpride – Turning disused properties & spaces into accessible cultural & retail hubs

London is full of disused and run down space especially post recession, why not allow these spaces to be occupied by start up businesses, artists, creative individuals and educational workshops.

Enterpride will facilitate the transaction between landlords willing to volunteer their property & Londoners wanting to use the space. Those occupying vacant spaces will have access to the property until they can afford to rent it, or an established business is willing to pay for the space. If users of the Enterpride scheme have their current space bought by an established company they will be assigned a new one. The only cost Enterpride occupants will have to pay are the business rates which are minimal.

Enterpride will not only give new businesses, initiatives and educational workshops the opportunity to have their own retail, gallery or exhibition space but it will also rejuvenate neglected areas. This in turn will encourage established businesses, residents and consumers to explore new places and bring money to otherwise ignored areas.

Swap Stories – A Book Swap System for London Underground

Public transport is boring; Swap Stories makes your commute more interesting and lets your imagination go on its own journey!

Swap Stories is a book swap system initially starting in tube stations to encourage Londoners to read more. You can get involved by making a small Oyster card deposit via the Swap Stories book dispenser. You can then pick a book of your choice or get a random book chosen by the dispenser. Swap Stories relies on trust and honesty, you can only take a book if you bring one to swap.

The scheme will be run in conjunction with libraries, charity shops and 2nd hand bookshops. Volunteers will vet, check and add the books back into the system. There will also be opportunities for publishers to sponsor stations and areas. Theme days or weeks (Charles Darwin week, Romance week etc) could take place and short, one journey‚ stories could also be written by famous authors or commuters and added into the Swap Stories system.

To check out all the Co-Create London ideas and submit your own visit www.cocreatelondon.com