looking for new strategies for creating a successful public realm
Looking for new strategies for creating a successful public realm'Let's look at the way we make and break the rules, and create truly inspiring places': George Fergusson, Quality Streetscapes May 2007
What strategies can be adopted to promote the case for a better public realm with local authorities and developers? Will the Government's new Manual for Streets help us to create better places? Or will efforts to put a price tag on better design, as CABE and Transport for London are now striving to do, help bring about the change we are looking for? No one would dispute we need better public realm, and streetscapes in particular. But when it comes to the crunch, who is going to pay? A concensus is now emerging in urban design circles that many of our streetscapes are blighted by a surfeit of signs and regulations that too often give priority to the car over the pedestrian. Although a few pioneering schemes, such as Kensington High Street and Seven Dials in London, have been widely acclaimed, they remain the exception rather than the rule. The Manual for Streets Those calling for a radical re-think now have a new ally in the form of a Government guidance, Manual for Streets, published in March 2007. It supercedes Design Bulletin 32 and Places, Streets and Movement, now withdrawn. "It's a change of culture in the way we think about streets," Andrew Cameron, Technical Director of WSM, co-author of Manual for Streets, told delegates at the Quality Streetscape conference in May 2007. "I wanted to call it the Joy of Streets, but the Department of Transport thought it too racy." Manual for Streets also challenges some long-held assumptions, for example, typical stopping distances for drivers. In the UK this had been fixed at 70m at 50mph, while in the Netherlands the figure is 40m. This has led to the creation of sightlines around new development giving rise to large flat expanses of grass or tarmac. The Manual for Streets was launched in March 2007. A copy of the Manual can be downloaded from: www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/manforstreets/ The Manual is being promoted at a series of regional conferences in the first part of 2007, organised by The Institution of Highways and Transportation. Examples of good street design Speaking at QSS Andrew Cameron said we should reverse the existing hierarchy, and instead place pedestrians on top and vehicles at the bottom. Skateboarding and other activities should be encouraged, and not relegated to neglected areas of the city. He urged street designers to bring back the traditional High Street, based around concepts such as the walkable neighbourhood. Forget over-regulation, instead, let pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles inter-mingle, and they will make room for each other. Accident rates have been seen to decline when the guardrails, signs, railings and other forms of control are taken out, rather than the reverse, he said.
Manual for Streets cites new developments at Sherford, Plymouth and two other Prince's Foundation projects (Poundbury, Dorset and Upton, Northamptonshire) as examples of best practice in street design. A new 'traditional' High Street is being created at Sherford, Plymouth, a new settlement of 12,000 people. 'I don't think anyone has done this in this country for many years,' said Andrew Cameron.
Junction of Queen's Street and Cannon Street, London Another successful scheme is at Exchange Square, Manchester which can be viewed on the BBC website Meeting the challenges: how to deliver change He said that funding was crucial. 'Money is what worries me most about the public realm …. we know a lot about quality, the costs and the benefits, but we can't measure a streetscape which involves so many things.' He said there were three components that matter in creating successful public realm which are:
'My favourite place remains Venice. However, nowadays we are creating new Venices in Bahrain, for example the making of a new waterfront at Durrat al Bahrain.
'In Britain, we may not have examples on quite the same scale. However, there are some examples of good public realm projects, for example Chepstow High Street. This is an example of a small scale scheme, which has succeeded in transforming a declining market town.'
A new usable public square was created and formed the heart of the scheme. In the original concept design the levelling of Beaufort Square created a high and long wall between the new square and Bank Street, which could have been rather forbidding and claustrophobic. Artist Howard Bowcott took inspiration from one of Chepstow's most famous landmarks, the Portwall, working with landscape architect Simon Andrews, designed a series of convex and concave curved walls alternating with steps leading down to the square allowing for pedestrian traffic across the square and clear sight lines from all directions. Howard then designed a frieze to be carved in relief within the walls, reflecting Chepstow's history.
Peter Heath went on to describe several examples of successful public realm projects Atkins have been involved in London. 1. Streatham High Street was a long, traffic dominated High Street in need of care and attention. It is now no longer a gloomy, high crime area.
2. White Cube Gallery, Mason's Yard, London White Cube opened in September 2006 located off Duke Street, St. James's, home of the original White Cube gallery, on a site that was previously an electricity sub-station. Also designed by MRJ Rundell & Associates it is the first free-standing building to be built in the St James's area for more than 30 years.
3. Covent Garden is a landmark in economic regeneration
The regeneration of Covent Garden for the London Borough of Camden following the relocation of the fruit and vegetable market in the 1970s is widely considered to be a benchmark in both the evolution of approaches to Conservation and public space improvement. Atkins have been involved in a range of projects in the area for local major landowners and developers such as Kleinwort Benson and Shaftesbury PLC and local community groups including the Seven Dials Monument Charity, the Covent Garden Community Association and the Covent Garden Area Trust. 4. Trafalgar Square
Three new paved pedestrian areas have been created in and around the Square. The new central steps linking the lower and upper levels of the Square provide a direct route up to the entrance of the National Gallery.
The design needed to accommodate peak hour volume, provision of signalised crossings on Waterloo Road, and the realignment of a subway to accommodate disabled access. A segregated cycle lane was added to minimise conflict with buses and reflect the Mayor of London's Transport Strategy to encourage cycling. The design of the interchange introduced an enhanced streetscape. The footway was formed to grid pattern, with additional landscaping including trees, bespoke street lighting and furniture. The removal of buses from the highway was considered a major safety improvement. Further safety issues included the introduction of two crossing facilities to eliminate uncontrolled pedestrian movements across Waterloo Road. The works were successfully completed in August 2004 within the £1.1 million budget.
Peter Heath also showed examples to show how important detail is in street design.
RUDI co-organised this event for the first time, and we hope that the discussion will help to progress the debate about the state of the public realm in the UK. The conference aimed to identify the different types of value created by well-designed and managed public places and assist in the dissemination of knowledge to help make the case for investing in improvements. The conference was supported by: The Academy of Urbanism - Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM) - Living Streets - UrbanDesignJobs.com - Public Realm Information & Advisory Network (PRIAN) The conference was sponsored by: Project Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
