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Originally Posted by rgarri4
The city of London seems to lack a city center. Or if it has one its really hard to tell. Development seems so scattered around and un-aware of each other. I haven't been to London before so I wouldn't know if this is a good or bad thing but seeing it in pictures it's super confusing to tell how the city is growing.
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Understandable confusion for a Chicagoan, because your city does have just one central business district full of skyscrapers, the Loop. London also does have an ancient core, the City of London or the Square Mile. It's where you see the sharply angled Cheesegrater and Scalpel buildings in these pictures, and most of the other "unusual" architecture. That zone is where most of London's oldest and biggest and wealthiest financial institutions are headquartered, but very few full-time residents. The center of city life is more towards Westminster, in my experience from a decade ago.
London has also made an effort to redevelop other parts of the city, such as the docklands, with high-rise offices. That's given the city multiple CBD's now, making it similar to New York City or Los Angeles, though for different reasons.
Also, residential towers seem to go up wherever it's convenient, unlike in Chicago where most are clustered by the lakeshore.