A six-month investigation by the London Assembly's Planning and Spatial Development Committee says that Londoners would have a better quality of life if more political will, resources and skills were put into improving the calibre of the capital's buildings and open spaces.

The investigation has revealed that many buildings and spaces in London are still poorly designed, devoid of any sense of place and suffering from neglect.

Committee Members found the problems are caused by the absence of a cohesive and co-ordinated effort beyond any one project, programme or department. Evidence in the Committee report highlights a lack of an integrated approach to urban design, and political and officer leadership, concerns about the effectiveness of the planning system, shortage of skills and a funding deficit. An urban design 'toolkit' would enable planners to take an integrated planning approach.

Although good work is being done to improve the quality of urban design across London, much more is needed to achieve an urban renaissance.

The report calls for the development of a vision and action plan to encourage everyone working together to improve the quality of the capital's built environment. But, for the planning system to work effectively, it must be adequately resourced with qualified staff. Members recommend that the Mayor, Greater London Authority, Association of London Government and other relevant organisations make the case for additional resources at borough level to boost planning and architectural expertise.

Other recommendations in the report, include:

• Establishing an annual "summit" meeting to bring together all those involved in the delivery, management and maintenance of London's public spaces.
• Setting up a way to review and evaluate progress towards achieving an urban renaissance.
• Developing an urban design "toolkit" for the use of local authority development control planners, including case studies.

Bob Neill AM, Chair of the Committee, said: "The design and quality of London's built environment is key to its future prosperity as a world city and to securing a good quality of life."

"The capital cannot accommodate its rapid increase in population and improve conditions for existing residents without the highest standards of architecture and urban design. Some encouraging results are beginning to appear, particularly in recent developments, but these achievements are patchy."

"There is a great need to improve co-ordination of efforts and promote a more integrated approach to urban design. We believe this report will help to address some of these issues and deliver the highest quality in the design of our buildings and spaces."