By Art Patnaude | The Wall Street Journal
Only 8,000 people live in the City of London. Peter Rees has kept it that way.
The City, a square mile of prime land on the north bank of the River Thames, has been the principal place to do business in London since Roman times.
The Romans built a wall to keep out marauders. Mr. Rees, who retired last week after 29 years as the City’s chief planning officer, wielded a rule book to keep out residents.
Years of rising house prices in prime parts of central London have made developers salivate over the prospect of pricey apartments within the City’s crumbling stone walls.
