ONE of the many good things about The London Festival of Architecture, Europe’s largest, is that much of it is free.

It runs throughout the whole of June, with exhibitions, installations, walks, family events, film screenings, open-doors architect studios and kids zones and one of its highlights is Designing for the Public Good (RIBA, June 12).

Post-WWII, just under half of all British architects worked for the public sector, but now it's 0.7 per cent in England, with just 0.2 per cent in London, and the results are abundantly depressing. At the RIBA event, you can hear and talk about what’s being done to refocus attention on improving the public realm and public buildings for all.

For eco warriors, Building Colombian Biodiversity with Bamboo (June 19, Colombian embassy), recounts the pre-Hispanic history of bamboo construction. Focusing on the spectacularly innovative work (pictured) of architect Simon Velez, it's a real lesson in humility for the West.

Whose Elephant? An Exploration of Local Identities (June 20 at Social Life) tackles the infamous “regeneration” of Elephant and Castle, resisted by local groups opposed to the “visions” of developers and planners that ignore existing, popular notions of the area’s identity.

Not dissimilar is Balfron Tower: 50 Years (June 21, Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives), with writer Owen Hopkins providing a moment of bitter reflection as the tower's flats, created as social housing, are refurbished for private profit.

At the Serpentine in Hyde Park, Mexican architect Frida Escobedo will inaugurate her Pavilion 2018 (June 15-October 15), always an intriguing proposition.

One in the eye for xenophobes will be the screening of five-minute short film Emigre Architects (June 1, The Scoop, City Hall), which charts the influence of emigre architects from 10 nations in the capital, while the fascinating Identity: The Story of the London Stock Brick (Taylor Maxwell June 13, 20 and 27) is a must for anybody with a soft spot for bricks, the origins of brickwork in London and the history of the London stock.

Solus and the City, (June 1 and 9, Greendale Playing Fields) is a mountain bothy “solitude shed,” which takes a female perspective on self-identity and self-reliance and of experiencing disproportionately unstable positions in housing, work and society.

Finally, a giant woman puppet arrives in Woolwich with RISE! (June 23, Royal Arsenal riverside), accompanied by the Bird of Freedom, representing an eternal dream of equality. The story of the women of Woolwich is performed by French company l'Homme Debout and members of the community.

All listed events are free, full details of the festival are available at londonfestivalofarchitecture.org