Reclaiming, reimagining and redefining our streets

James Trevers and Andy Harris

The world is longing for escape. Urban migrants fleeing to scenic areas have been well documented while the world has almost sold out of Nintendo Switches, a means of accessing a plethora of universes. Whether in the categories of landscape or digital escapism, the traditional concept of the word as self-denial can be countered by the hugely positive impact it can have as a means of distraction or losing oneself. During the lockdown, how many people have realised the life-sustaining properties of their local parks and the escape they offer, as the mental and physical benefits of landscapes provide the space for both our brains and feet to wander?

This realisation has seen a visible impact on our urban landscapes. Our 2-metre bubbles are at a premium as a fixed area of parks are met with increasing numbers. Whilst this has overwhelmed our cities’ parks, the inverse is occurring for roadways, with the reduction in permissible travel seeing streets devoid of movement. This relationship, of reduced street use and increased park demand, could see the temporary conversion of certain street spaces into short-term parklets as a response to the challenges of COVID-19. By reclaiming, reimaging and redefining streets, the fabric of our cities can become greener, safer and more democratic, whilst also reducing the risk to public health caused by the density experienced in parks.

The methodology would see the correlation of neighbourhoods without proximate greenspace and those streets able to transition out of our cities’ transportation networks. Through this redesignation of usable streets, a lifeline can be provided for those isolated without access to greenspace. The hardest hit areas are, generally, densely populated urban neighbourhoods with little usable greenspace, exactly the locations where those streets with potential for meanwhile park use are most abundant.

Pearl Street Triangle before and after image.

© Totem Group

Precedent has been set for this kind of activity. The work of Janette Sadik- Khan, as Commissioner of NewYork City’s Transportation Department, saw ‘DIY Parklets’ constructed over the course of weekends. Dumbo’s Pearl Street Triangle went from car parking to plaza through simple and cheap interventions. By creating a design guide for street conversion, with rules to preclude close contact, reduce materials with contamination risk and encourage design with escapism in mind, this small action could transform the lockdown for millions. The nature of the street spaces targetted would see neighbourhood identities feed into their design, cultivating the diversification and user input required to make spaces sustainable. This could also provide some salvation to an industry to which ours is intimately tied, but often taken for granted. The removal of sales outlets for nurseries is seeing millions of pounds worth of plants wasted, with a third of producers at risk of collapse. Through a coordinated effort of providing low-maintenance planting for these spaces, a huge amount of plants, jobs and financial losses could be prevented.

As landscape architects, a degree of optimism can help us envisage streets with a reduced number of cars. Aside from the current possibilities of these proposals, they may also provide a designer’s roadmap for the future scenario of reduced car use. For now, the impact of these proposals could have a beneficial effect on people’s physical and mental wellbeing, offering them a real and positive escape in landscape.

James Trevers CMLI, a former LI Student Dissertation prize winner, is a landscape architect at John McAslan + Partners, where he works alongside studio director Andy Harris CMLI.