244 acres in the City of London were considered suitable for Comprehensive Development, at Tower Hill, the Barbican and St Paul's Cathedral, and were designated as Comprehensive Development Area no 1 by London County Council.

The Barbican was under the jurisdiction of the Corporation of London. They commissioned Charles Henry Holden and Sir William Graham Holford in 1947 as planning consultants for a reconstruction plan intended for private development. A joint London County Council/ Corporation of London basic scheme, involving pedestrian/traffic segregation was produced in 1949 and revised in 1954. A proposed development by the New Barbican Committee, an architects' consortium, was put forward in 1954, with Kadleigh, Horsburgh & Whitfield, as architects. This was rejected after a planning appeal.

The Corporation of London commissioned its Golden Lane housing development from Chamberlin, Powell & Bon (although the site was actually in Finsbury).

The St Paul's precinct was proposed in the Holford and Holden City of London Plan,1947, but re-planned by Holford, in consultation with the Ministry of Housing and the chairmen of London County Council and the Corporation of London. This design included a forecourt to the Cathedral and a commercial area with a decking system.

The Tower of London Comprehensive Development Area was an area of urban blight with much war damage. The scheme attempted to create a suitable setting for the historic Tower. Partly in the City and partly in Stepney, this was a collaboration between the Corporation of London and the London County Council Planning Division North-East Group, under Percy Johnson-Marshall. The London County Council team leader was Walter Bor.