More from the London Assembly

"Scrutiny reports: The London Assembly publishes reports on its examinations of the Mayor's policies and activities, and also on its investigations into other issues of importance to Londoners. The scrutiny reports page lists all reports produced to date.

How about this one from the Planning and Spatial Development Committee?

Designs on London April 2004

The design and quality of London’s built environment is a key to its future prosperity and to securing a good quality of life. The Committee’s scrutiny of London’s ‘urban renaissance‘ finds 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, but many buildings and spaces in London are still poorly designed, devoid of any sense of place and suffering from neglect, the report reveals. Evidence in the 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. 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.
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It's fascinating to poke through the listings in the scrutiny section, with reports ranging from "No room for complacency.. [on affordable housing]", "Social Enterprises," "Scrutiny of the Mayor's Revised Economic Development Strategy," "Access to the Thames: Scrutiny of the Thames Foreshore and Path," and "Behind the London Plan, the response of the London Assembly to the Mayor's draft London Plan."

Governance in the UK has a distinctly different attitude towards oversight, and compared to most legislative bodies in the U.S., the Parliament and councils like the London Assembly are actively engaged in substantive oversight activities.