Editing Greater London Council (section)

==Notable schemes==
[[File:GLC sign in LB Lewisham in 2022.jpg|thumb|230px|GLC sign on a housing estate in the [[London Borough of Lewisham]] as seen in 2022]]
The most notable and successful scheme of the GLC was the construction of the [[Thames Barrier]] that took place between 1974 and 1982 at a cost of £534 million. Some saw it as a GLC vanity project but over time people's opinions have changed: the barrier was used 35 times in the 1990s and was raised 75 times in the first decade of the 21st century, due to rising sea-levels.<ref name="Barratt" />

In 1969, the GLC announced its plans for the [[London Ringways]] which were three motorways that were proposed to solve London's traffic problem once and for all. However, the scheme met with heavy opposition as it would have included the demolition of 30,000 homes. The [[Westway (London)|Westway]] road scheme was opened in 1970 and hailed as a vision of the future. A review into the planned Ringways took place between 1970 and 1972. It concluded that construction should begin on the controversial Ringway One to relieve congestion in central London, but that the others needed a re-think. The ''Outer Ringway'' was given the go-ahead in 1973 and opened in 1986 as the [[M25 motorway]]. The remainder of the GLC's Ringway plans were finally killed off in the 1980s due to public opposition. This meant that the capital was left on a much more human scale than it might have been, but also meant that London was left with an eternally unsolved traffic problem.<ref name="Barratt2">{{cite book |last=Barratt |first=Nick |author-link=Nick Barratt |year=2012 |title=Greater London – The Story of the Suburbs |location=Vauxhall Bridge Road, [[London]] |publisher=[[Random House]] |pages=408–410 |isbn=978-1-84794-532-7}}</ref>

In 1983, GLC considered investing £230,000 into [[Road–rail vehicle#Road–rail buses|Lucas rail-bus]], which could run on roads and rail tracks.<ref name=lucasbus>{{cite magazine |last1= |first1= |title=Lucas rail-bus gains a new lease of life |date=18 August 1983 |publisher=Reed Business Information |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eEb09_m7w1IC&dq=%22Lucas+rail-bus+gains+a+new+lease+of+life%22=false&pg=PA475 |magazine=[[New Scientist]]|page=475|access-date=29 January 2023 |language=en}}</ref> The original concept was developed by [[Lucas Aerospace]] workers in the 1970s. In 1980–1981, the workers' [[Corporate group|combine]] built a prototype out of a second-hand Bristol bus.<ref name=lucasbus /> The enthusiasm arose from the opportunity to cut costs on rail vehicle production by partially integrating bus parts.<ref name=lucasbus /> Two challenges had to be solved—collision consequences with much heavier rail vehicles and supervision of the transition from road to rail.<ref name=lucasbus />

After [[World War II]] large areas of homes in London remained derelict after being bombed in the war and some housing that remained standing was often squalid and overcrowded. The GLC, with new housing powers, sought to resolve this but the results were mixed: efforts to relocate Londoners from the dilapidated inner-city areas to the suburbs or satellite towns were met with resistance from the residents of those areas.<ref name="BBC.GLC">{{cite news |last=Webber |first=Esther |date=31 March 2016 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35716693 |title=The rise and fall of the GLC |agency=[[BBC Online]] |access-date=5 November 2022}}</ref> Notable successful housing developments that were built by the GLC include [[Balfron Tower]] which was completed in 1967 in [[Tower Hamlets]] and [[Trellick Tower]] which was completed in 1972 in [[North Kensington]]. Both of these buildings are now [[Grade II* listed buildings in London|Grade II* listed]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Fran |date=28 October 2019 |url=https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/buildings/brutal-refurbishment-studio-egret-west-upgrades-balfron-tower |title=Brutal refurbishment: Studio Egret West upgrades Balfron Tower |work=[[Architects' Journal]] |access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Bullen |first=Alexandra |date=May 2014 |url=https://c20society.org.uk/building-of-the-month/trellick-tower-london |title=Building of the month |publisher=[[The Twentieth Century Society]] |access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref>

In addition to the Thames Barrier, other notable successful GLC transport schemes which changed London included the opening of the [[Blackwall Tunnel]] second bore and the improvements to the [[Woolwich Ferry]] service.<ref name="BBC.GLC" />