The 25m-high artificial hill at one end of Oxford Street dubbed the Marble Arch Mound opened in July. It was supposed to help lure shoppers freed from lockdown away from internet stores and back to Britain’s best-known shopping thoroughfare. But once the first visitors were allowed on it, it was revealed to be a mess. Rain swept turf off the slopes, leaving bare scaffolding on view. What grass remained turned brown. To Britons familiar with children’s television, it was reminiscent of a shabby, low-rent Teletubbyland.

During construction the cost ballooned from £3.3m ($4.7m) to £6m. After it opened, plans to charge for entry were scrapped. The deputy leader of Westminster Council, which commissioned the mound from MVRDV, a Dutch design company, resigned. Opposition councillors said the mound was “an international embarrassment” and called for it to be dismantled immediately. It is due to come down as planned on January 9th...

The Economist: The Marble Arch mound How to lure shoppers off their computers?