STRATEGY |
Fitzrovia West Public Realm Strategy | Fitzrovia West Neighbourhood Forum
Urban Movement was commissioned by the Neighbourhood Forum in collaboration with Westminster City Council to identify opportunities to create new areas of public space within Fitzrovia West, and to deliver concept designs for key public realm opportunities.
We assessed all streets and areas of public realm within the neighbourhood and identified areas where a rebalancing of movement and place could unlock space for new public realm and greenspace for the community, as well as improving air quality, and the health and happiness of residents and visitors alike.
Streets and Spaces were assessed in order to identify projects that could be taken forward, ranked in order of which gave the greatest benefits in line with the requirements and desires of the Neighbourhoood Forum, focussing on projects that minimise resident and business disruption, but maximise open space creation, rather than simply ‘enhancing’ streets.
This study was part of the process of preparing a Neighbourhood Plan, looking at how to create more green open space in the neighbourhood and embedding that aspiration and process in planning policy. To ensure that public realm ambition was properly embedded in policy, the provision of new green open space was anchored in:
• Incorporating requirements for more open space, including green roofs, in major site redevelopments;
• Identifying streets or parts of streets which might be closed to vehicles and landscaped;
• Streets or parts of streets which might be converted for shared use with restricted vehicular access;
• Identifying pavements which might be widened and used for planting and sitting areas;
• Creating green walls or other features which will improve the environment and reduce ambient temperatures; and
• Rearranging residents’ parking bays without reducing the overall number.
Our study fed into the FITZROVIA WEST NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN 2019 to 2034 setting the ambition for public realm improvements over the next decade, highlighting the improvements that need to happen, what they could look like and deliver, and how they can be delivered.
See our PUBLIC REALM STRATEGY here.
We assessed all streets and areas of public realm within the neighbourhood and identified areas where a rebalancing of movement and place could unlock space for new public realm and greenspace for the community, as well as improving air quality, and the health and happiness of residents and visitors alike.
Streets and Spaces were assessed in order to identify projects that could be taken forward, ranked in order of which gave the greatest benefits in line with the requirements and desires of the Neighbourhoood Forum, focussing on projects that minimise resident and business disruption, but maximise open space creation, rather than simply ‘enhancing’ streets.
This study was part of the process of preparing a Neighbourhood Plan, looking at how to create more green open space in the neighbourhood and embedding that aspiration and process in planning policy. To ensure that public realm ambition was properly embedded in policy, the provision of new green open space was anchored in:
• Incorporating requirements for more open space, including green roofs, in major site redevelopments;
• Identifying streets or parts of streets which might be closed to vehicles and landscaped;
• Streets or parts of streets which might be converted for shared use with restricted vehicular access;
• Identifying pavements which might be widened and used for planting and sitting areas;
• Creating green walls or other features which will improve the environment and reduce ambient temperatures; and
• Rearranging residents’ parking bays without reducing the overall number.
Our study fed into the FITZROVIA WEST NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN 2019 to 2034 setting the ambition for public realm improvements over the next decade, highlighting the improvements that need to happen, what they could look like and deliver, and how they can be delivered.
See our PUBLIC REALM STRATEGY here.
