Urban landscapes are transforming
There’s an often-quoted statistic: 80% of the buildings that will exist in 2050 have already been built. How true this is will obviously depend on the location but for the UK and Europe, it seems about right. It also means that most of the parks, streets, gardens and public spaces have already been built too and need to be retrofitted and reimagined to promote sustainable behaviour and resilience.
This is already happening. Paris is fast becoming a global cycling city by reassigning street space for two-wheels instead of four. Barcelona is rolling out their ‘super-blocks’ concept to provide new public spaces and limit driving. In London, change may be happening in a more piecemeal, local level, but it’s happening.
I recently recorded two podcast episodes with landscape architects to showcase two of these public space transformation projects.
#80: Transforming an Urban Park, with LUC (Landscape Mini-Series Part 3)
In this episode I spoke with James Virgo CMLI of LUC about the redesign of Shoreditch Park, London. This is a nice case study of taking an existing park and working with the local community to improve it for biodiversity while tackling anti-social behaviour and creating a more welcoming and multi-function space for local people.
#81: Reimagining Roads as Public Space, with LDA (Landscape Mini-Series Part 4)
In this episode I sit down with Cannon Ivers CMLI of LDA to discuss their inspiring project The Strand, Aldwych. The Strand was for centuries a busy traffic thoroughfare in central London that has been transformed into a totally pedestrianised and multi-functional public space. Cannon tells me the story of how this came to be, what it means for the people who use this space and how it connects to a larger initiative to transform busy roads in central London into public spaces.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on these episodes. Don’t hesitate to reach out by email or in the comments below.
Ross