An Urban Design Strategy
Group C2: Fatima Almarwani, Devin Butler, Ewan Clegg, Christos Loukas, Jacqueline Streur Group C2 BPLN0042: Urban Design: Place Making 1
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Table of Contents
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Poplar: Branching Out
1. Introduction 3
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Poplar: Branching Out
1.1 Introducing the Strategy Intro This urban design strategy aims to reanimate Poplar, while reducing the divide with Greater London and improving the quality of life for its residents. The theme for the proposal is “Branching Out”, which was inspired by the trees the district was named after and the need for Poplar to both flourish and honour its roots. This is achieved through five unifying “branches” of policy -- commercial, sociocultural, social equity, urban greening and connectivity. Taking a schematic approach, Branching Out focuses on strategic intervention on a spatial and policy scale with a focus on placing the groundwork for more detailed future plans.
The Brief This project should: - Improve quality of life for residents, workers, and outsiders - Meet housing and densification standards for London - Be creative in preserving desirable traits and slowly and sustainably transforming undesirable ones - To determine the phases in which each of the proposals would be implemented, especially in the long term - Consider Poplar with respect to its neighbouring areas and greater London - Create cohesion between different areas of the site and have a clear unifying strategy for what the site is going to look like and how to get there - Consider factors such as: -Land use mix -Network of routes using different modes of transport -Major and minor infrastructural change -Revitalising the local economy -Improvements to the public realm -Creating an inclusive and attractive space
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Poplar: Branching Out
The Study Area Poplar is a district in the east of London, located in the borough of Tower Hamlets, comprised of the wards Poplar and Lansbury. The population of the area is roughly 21,816 comprising around 10% of the population of the borough. The predominant ethnicity of the area is Bangladeshi and the religion muslim. The area is particularly deprived in multiple dimensions. More than half of the population have social rent tenure. Unemployment rates are significantly above the London average, averaging at around 17.5% unemployment amongst the economically active population. The proportion of those with a level 4 qualification was substantially lower in Lansbury (25.1 per cent) compared to London (40.5 per cent). Some areas of the ward also have the highest rates of unqualified individuals in the borough. Poplar is now approaching a critical point in its development. Typically one of the UK’s poorest areas, it is identified as a “Growth Borough” following the 2012 Olympics, recognised as area for strong potential growth, and as a launch-pad for Britain to move out of economic depression (London’s Growth Boroughs). To realise this economic, social and envrionmental change, a strong, viable strategy is required, paving the way for Poplar: Branching Out.
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Poplar: Branching Out
1.2 Urban Context This policy strategy responds to the specific urban context that defines Poplar, shaping the ways in which it functions and interacts with surrounding neighbourhoods and wider London. This urban context is examined within five categories: commercial; socio-cultural; social equity; urban greening; and connectivity. These categories combine to form the framework over which this policy strategy is presented. 1. Commercial background: untapped potential
2. Socio-cultural background: lack of vibrancy
3. Social equity background: a divided landscape
Poplar has excellent potential for commerical activity with two ‘high roads’ in East India Dock Road and Poplar High Street, and a central market, in Chrisp Street. Additionally, there is a major daily inflow of students to New City College and University of Cumbria (London Campus), representing an opportunity for student-centred commerce, including provision of food, books and recreational activities. However these amenities are hampered by poor utilisation of space, inactive high street frontages, over-dominance of residential land usage, poor internal legibility and vehicle-centred roads.
Social life in Poplar suffers from a lack of platforms on which it can take place. The public realm is orientated towards satisfying the needs of traffic leaving no space for social activities to emerge. The only exception, other than green spaces, is the Chrisp Street Market area, which nethertheless is dedicated to commercial uses. Equally, with residential land use dominating, even on Poplar’s major streets, locals are forced to pursue social activity outside the community, leading to social hollowing in Poplar.
Poplar was developed to house workers from the Docklands, being culturally and racially diverse from the outset. It was rife with economic disparity, and became a hub for political radicalism, specifically surrounding wealth redistribution. Indeed, Poplarism emerged as a term referring to the provision of poor relief and unemployment compensation and during the 1980s, 97.6% of housing in Poplar was social housing.
Meanwhile, to the south across the DLR tracks and A1261, Canary Wharf boasts numerous retail outlets and a huge potential market for commercial activities in the 100,000+ people employed here. However, poor physical and social connectivity limits the access of Poplar’s population to the commercial outputs available in Canary Wharf, whilst simultaneously acting as a barrier to Canary Wharf employees who might utilise Poplar’s amenities. Thus, taking full advantage of the commercial opportunities available to Poplar forms a key pillar of this strategy.
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Several assets within Poplar could be used to revitalise social life. Urban grain can shape (or constrain) an environment for the cultivation of social life. Specifically, the existing dense city blocks that maintain the human scale and the neighborhood spirit are favourable to such uses. Further, many students enter Poplar daily, yet given the lack of appropriate conditions they are not successfully integrated into the daily life. Finally, the large number of local initiatives and groups indicate a strong communal attitude, while the rich and diverse cultural heritage can act as stable foundation upon constructing a distinct identity.
However, in recent years, the vast wealth from Canary Wharf has begun to leak into Poplar via upper market apartment complexes. If this is allowed to continue without oversight, Poplar could be overcome by gentrification, and completely lose it’s rich historic legacy and cultural diversity. That said, the momentum of development and input of capital represents a force that has the potential to be harnessed, with the power to raise living standards, create opportunities and revitilise Poplar. This strategy seeks to do just that, maintaining Poplar’s historical ties to cultural diversity and economic justice, to bridge the divides that have grown in recent years.
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4. Urban futures
greening:
unsustainable
The district of Poplar has a clear historical connection to nature, being named after the once thriving native trees in the area, Populus canescens and Populus nigra. Its location between both the Thames and Lea rivers allowed this connection to deepen further, with the majority of early residents working the once heavily trafficked docks nearby. Today, Poplar residents still crave this relationship with nature, however the lack of spatial connectivity and community involvement in the local natural spaces prevents this from happening. With climate change a defining contemporary issue, with potentially transformative impacts, greening our cities is more critical than ever. This is especially true for automobile dominant areas such as Poplar where there are already higher than average levels of toxic air pollutants along major roads (London Air, 2016). By introducing urban greening measures, this strategy aims to reunite Poplar with the natural world.
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Poplar: Branching Out
5. Connectivity: barriers to mobility Poplar’s physical proximity to Canary Wharf is at odds with the divide between them socially, economically, and in terms of connectivity. There is a large gap in earnings between workers in Poplar and the workers of Canary Wharf, and a large disparity in sectors, with Canary Wharf’s industry focussing on professional services and finance, and most employees living outside the area and commuting in to work. Meanwhile, Poplar’s industry is focussed on blue collar work, and is heavily residential with most workers exiting the area to work. Poplar’s character is greatly influenced by the presence of a wealthy corporate district next door: the imbalanced massing and towering buildings loom over the area and exacerbate the feelings of dissatisfaction and divide between the two areas. This is all compounded by the lack of physical connectivity between the two areas: there is only one walkable passageway across the A1261, and other than to access the DLR, residents of Canary Wharf have minimal encounter with residents of Poplar; the area as it stands does not hold much value as a destination to them. By introducing measures to comabt these mobility issues, this strategies begins to bridge thie gap.
The five layers of Poplar’s urban context Commercial Socio-cultural Social Equity Urban Greening Connectivity
1.3 SWOT
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Poplar: Branching Out
Informed by analysis of Poplar’s urban context, the following ‘SWOT’ was produced. This SWOT forms the benchmark against which the policies presented in this strategy were devised.
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2. Overarching Vision 9
2.1 The Vision
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Poplar: Branching Out
The five key elements that shape Poplar’s urban context come together to form the five branches of Poplar: Branching Out. These branches are the framework on which this urban design strategy recommends policy, building a cohesive vision for Poplar.
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2.2 Vision in Policy
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Poplar: Branching Out
Within the five branches of the Poplar: Branching Out vision are various policy recommendations, providing grounded expressions of how the vision should be achieved. This should be used as a start point from which a detailed urban design framework may be produced.
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2.3 Master Vision
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3. Strategies 13
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Poplar: Branching Out
In this section, the five branches of the Poplar: Branching Out are discussed in terms of the policy strategies that are recommended to realise the vision. For each branch, a broader policy vision is provided, highlighting the key policy areas in which action should take place. Following this, examples of this policy in action are given, providing specific spatialised expressions of this policy to showcase how it is envsioned that it should be applied to Poplar. This section proceeds in the following structure:
- Commercial Branch - Socio-cultural Branch - Social Equity Branch - Urban Greening Branch - Connectivity Branch
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3.1: Commercial Branch
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Poplar: Branching Out
3.1.1 Commercial Policy Vision The strategy aims to reactivate local economic activity by reinvigorating Poplar’s underutilised spaces, increasing commercial output, providing new commercial destinations and creating more vibrant spaces for all.
2. Redevelop existing centres
3. Retain and support local business
Poplar’s commercial potential is underutilsied. This strategy recommends the allocation of a permit system to SLOAP. Permits can be allocated to residents or private parties, based on an application process, to be approved by the council. This will enable SLOAP to be repurposed rapidly and assigned to public realm improvements as well as pop-up businesses, generating interest in the area, making it more attractive and providing short term commercial opportunities.
Longer-term redevelopments are proposed, targeting the high-proportion of closedfrontaged residential housing and run-down built infrastructure in potential commercial centres. This should occur within proposed redevelopment of residential areas, activating frontages in key areas for commercial activity, and proposed redevelopment of Chrisp Street Market. Modular building practices should be incorporated, making buildings flexible and adaptable.
Successful commercial spaces require an identity. This is provided by existing local businesses, many of which reflect traditional East End culture. All existing businesses should be offered guaranteed lots in redeveloped commercial areas. Affordability should be guarenteed; the council should retain control over commercial lots to manage rent, and prices for local busiensses should subsidised by premium rates paid by big-name retailers
Over the longer term, rejuvination of the public realm is recommeneded, including provision of interactive maps, water features, art, street furniture and WiFi. Additionally, proposed connectivity policy advocates a new pedestrian bridge connecting Poplar to Canary Wharf. These actions will increase pedestrian flows, supporting social interaction and building a greater sense of place, all of which support economic activity by boosting footfall.
Improving these spaces and increasing the commercial offering will promote increased public engagement and interes in Poplar and also encourage increased student useage of the area, increasing vibrancy and supporting the local economy.
1. Rejuvinate underutilised spaces
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Local commercial skills will also be supported. Public realm improvments will include the provision of an ‘Open Campus’, discussed in the socio-cultural visions, urrounding New City College; in return, the college should provide subsidised evening classes in entrepreneurship and business skills for the local population (18+). This will enhance the local population’s ability to engage in commercial ventures.
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4. Supporting commerce with culture Alongside retaining traditional East End businesses, Poplar’s historical heritage should be celebrated, adding to a unique sense of identity. Poplar has several buildings of cultural and historical value, reflecting Festival of Britain architecture and the area’s maritime history. These areas must be conserved during redevelopement. Further, new cultural spaces which celebrate Poplar’s past and present identity will be provided, along with artwork by local artists. This will cultivate a destinct “Poplarian” identity which will generate interest and footfall, thus supporting commercial activity and attrracting investment.
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5. Reclaim space for pedestrians Pedestrian networks are the veins that keep community hearts beating (DCLG, 2012). Pedestrian presence will be encouraged by reducing vehicular dominance of roads. This will be achieved by diverting traffic, introducing more stringenet vehicle speed controls and pedestrianising select commercial areas. Further, streets will be transformed from links for transport movement to places in their own right, where activities occur (as per Jones and Boujenko, 2009), using the discussed improvements to the public realm. This increased pedestrian footfall will support commercial activity and the vibrancy of the area.
Poplar: Branching Out
6. Attract new businesses
To complement the strong presence of local businesses, new commercial lots will also be assigned to new independent and “big name” businesses. New businesses will be attracted using the long-term vision for Poplar, which will see it build a strong identity, offering an exciting commercial opportunity. This will reinforce the local economy, increasing economic flows. Futher, it will provide a more varied mix of businesses, creating a more vibrant streetscape and thus a wider public appeal. This will increase pedestrain footfall, further supporting local commercial activity in a virtous cycle.
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Areas of Commercial Opportunity
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3.1.2 In Action: Chrisp Street Market Background Chrisp Street Market is rich in heritage and social function. Designed by Frederick Gibberd and built during the 1951 Festival of Britain, it boasts architecture of significant historical value and the status of being Britain’s first purpose-built pedestrian shopping area. The market is thus the historical social and economic heart of Poplar; honouring this hertiage, Chrisp Street is envisaged as a revitilised commercial hub.
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Chrisp Street Market’s commercial success is currently hindered by several factors: Chrisp Street Market’s run-down built environment and infrastructure undermine the market’s appeal and ability to draw visitors from further afield. The market’s major central canopy has an ‘industrial’ feel to it and blocks easy movement through the market, creating a sense of clutter. It also sits on the market square, preventing its use for other social activities, discouraging public presence. There is a lack of variety in the retail, recreation and food offerings in the market. It also lacks in established, well-known brands. This limits the market’s appeal, particularly beyond the local population.
Run down arcade within Chrisp Street Market
There is failure to utilise the market’s historical assets and identity, such as the clock tower and Festival of Britain architecture. Such features could be used to create interest and attract visitors. There are several negative local perceptions, including the market feeling disorganised, dirty, unsafe and lacking in ameanities such as entertainment and restaurants (Group B3).
The iconic Chrisp Street clock tower is underutilised, with no public access
Chrisp Street Market’s overbearing central canopy
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Vision for Chrisp Street Market
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Architectural firm Sheppard Robson have developed regeneration plans for Chrisp Street Market (due for completion in 2022), which have earned an 86% approval rating among traders and residents. This design strategy thus supports Sheppard Robson’s vision, fortifying it with policy guidance to ensure its commercial and social success, in line with this strategies’ broader vision for Poplar. Sheppard Robson’s Vision Sheppard Robson’s vision is sheduled for completion during phase 1 of Poplar: Branching Out. Key aspects that are supported by this vision include: 1. Improved market and shop offerings 200,000ft2 of retail space will be developed. New entertainment facilities, including a cinema and arts space, and restaurant facilities will be provided. This responds to local dissatisfaction in the market, increasing its wider appeal and will also appeal to the student population. This will boost commercial performance and spark local economic cycles.
Improved retial offerings (image: Sheppard Robson)
2. Improved infrastructure Low quality built infrastructure will be demolished and replaced, while the market square canopy will be replaced, opening up the square for public activity. There will be a focus on pedestrian access. This will provide a more user friendly
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environment, supporting social interaction and public engagement with the market, thus benefit commercial activity.
Refurbished clocl tower (Image: Sheppard Robson)
Maximising the central square (image: Sheppard Robson)
3. Retain the market’s built heritage Gibberd’s Festival of Britain architecture will be retained. The newly developed buildings that surround Chrisp Street Market’s heritage architecture will be low-rise to retain sight lights and ensure that this heritage remains prominent. The iconic clock tower will also be repaired. This will enhance the market’s historical identity, creating a greater sense of place to draw and retain visitors. This in turn will support commercial activity; by encouraging more visitors to the market, there is a larger potential pool of customers to who may spend locally.
4. New housing 650 housing units will be built alongside the market redevelopments, supplementing the customer base for traders and increasing local spending. This mixed-use environment will also engender a sense of vitality, helping Chrisp Street Market become a more desirable location, encouraging the public to spend time and money there.
Increased housing stock (image: Sheppard Robson)
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Supporting Policy Guidance
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2.1 Retain local traders: Once redevelopment is complete, local businesses and current traders should be guarenteed lots in the market. To guaranteed affordability and avoid spiralling rent costs, the council should retain ownership of the market and all market lots and retail spaces. This will ensure a vibrant mix of businesses and maximise public appeal, supporting commercial performance.
3.1 Commerce through culture: Once refurbishment of the clock tower is complete, it should form the heart of a new cultural information centre. The centre should aim to mix historical information related to the Festival of Britain and Poplar’s history, with contemporary exhibits regarding Poplar’s contemporary diverse population. This will provide further identity and appeal.
2.2 Ensure housing affordability: The council should strictly enforce the 35% of new housing that has been allocated as affordable. Retaining the local population is crucial to the market’s identity and commercial character.
3.2 Link Chrisp Street to the green corridor: The market should form the eastern start point of the proposed green corridor along East India Dock Road, allowing the market to benefit from Poplar’s enhanced appeal to visitors. It also benefits from East India Dock Road’s pedestrianisation, which promotes local movement and thus flows of pedestrians to the market. Additionally, the green network will connect East India Dock Road with Canary Wharf, allowing Chrisp Street Market to benefit from the increased flow of visitors to Poplar from Canary Wharf in the south.
2.3 Tax private developers: The council should enforce a tarriff on private residential developers of 5% of all monthly rent acquired, to be used for maintaining the market’s public realm, ensuring continued public appeal.
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1.1 Protect market traders: During redevelopment of Chrisp Street Market, local market traders’ commercial activities should be protected as they are particularly vulnerable to declines in custom. This should be achieved by designating adjacent underutilised car-parking facilities for hosting market traders whilst redevelopment is in process. This will ensure the continuation of commecial activity.
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To support the implementation of Sheppard Robson’s vision, a guiding policy strategy is provided across three phases:
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Buildings to be retained and demolished (adapted from Sheppard Robson)
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Aerial view of Chrisp Street Market following redevelopment (Image: Sheppard Robson)
3.1.3 In Action: East India Dock Road
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Background East India Dock Road (EDIR) has its roots in commercial activity; by connecting the East India Docks to the rest of the city, it was the East India Company’s gateway to trade in London. Reflecting this, the road is endowed with great width, designed to carry trade carts travelling to and from the docks. This width makes it perfectly suited to contemporary commercial activity. Running perpendicular to the southern edge of Chrisp Street Market, East India Dock Road is thus envisaged as a new corridor of commercial activity both continuing and complementing the offering of Chrisp Steet Market.
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As with Chrisp Street Market, several problems limit East India Dock Road’s ability to be commercially succesful.
East India Dock Road forms part of the A13, a major arterial road that connects central London to Essex. Consequently, it is heavily car orientated, with four lanes carrying carrying predominantly through-traffic. Further, roadside railings, and railed-off pedestrian crossing points make pedestrians secondary to vehicular users. Therefore, East India Dock Road’s ability to cater to pedestrian activity is undermined, limiting its commercial capacity.
Heavy use of railings
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Two lanes of traffic in either direction
A large concentration of SLOAP and dead space, which bear no relationship to their surroundings or road users. This creates a sense of incoherence and of poorly managed space, detracting from the user’s experience and deterring pedestrian presence, thus limiting commercial capacity.
Non-functional SLOAP
The dominant building function is residentialuse, with a high concentration of inactive ground-floor frontages. Further, of this inactive frontages, many are ‘closed-off’, with their backs facing East India Dock Road, in “defensive” formation. This creates a sense of impermeability, discouraging and even rejecting interaction with road users, thus limiting the road’s ability to host commercial actvity.
Building frontage is inactive, closedoff and set-back behind non-distinct green space.
Policy Vision for East India Dock Road
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To reactivate East India Dock Road as a corridor of commericial activity, three phases of policy intervention are recommended, focusing on making the road more pedestrian friendly, better utilising exisiting spaces, providing new commercial lots and improving the public realm. This will make East India Dock Road less of a Link and more of a Space.
Links and Places 1.1 Trial diversion of non-local traffic: to reduce vehicle dominance and promote local movement on East India Dock Road, a major diversion of the A13 is proposed between the junction with Cotton Street in the east, and the junction with Burdett Road in the west. Through traffic will be diverted on to the A1261 (Aspen Way), which runs parallel to East India Dock Road.During phase one, this should be trialled over a mix of peak and off-peak traffic times and over both weekdays and weekends.
1.2 Repurpose SLOAP: East India Dock Road has a high concentration of SLOAP. This should be identified and allocated using the mentioned permit system for development purposes. During phase one, SLOAP can be allocated to pop-up businesses, alongside simple public realm improvements such as urban furniture, urban art and interactive maps to generate interest in the area and increase footfall to benefit commercial activity. This will make East India Dock Road more of a Place (see box).
Links refer to street’s function of providing conduits for traffic and movement. Places refer to street’s function as destinations, where one may spend time. It is this place function that encourgaes one to engage in recreational activites, eat and drink and spend money on material goods. A street’s place function is thus crucial to supporting commercial activity (see Jones et al, 2008). The policy presented here mobilises the Link/Place axis (below), seeking to increase East India Dock’s Place status and a decrease in its Link status in order to support commercial activity.
Link/Place axis, Jones et al 2008
East India Dock Road is currently dominated by heavy through-traffic
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Simple interventions in SLOAP, such as pop-up kisosks, can spark commercial activity and encoruage public presence and use of space
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Proposed diversion of A13
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Current flows of A Road Traffic in Poplar
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Proposed flows of A Road traffic in Poplar, with A13 diversion
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2.1 Finalise traffic diversion of non-local traffic: findings from the trial diversion should be intergrated into a finalised rerouting of Poplar’s through-traffic, adapting road signage, junctions and providing new traffic lights to control traffic flows towards the new route. East India Dock Road should subsequently be transitioned from an A Road to local high road; transforming urban arterial roads into activity corridors can reinvigorate their economic and social life (Curtis and Tiwari, 2008).
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2.2 Prioritised pedestrians on East India Dock Road: East India Dock Road should be made more pedestrian friendly. To reduce vehicle dominace, its four lanes should be reduced to two, along with cycle lanes, with a 30mph speed limit and regular speed bumps. To improve pedestrian’s experience, railings should be removed and pavements widened. Further, a green corridor will run down the center of the road, providing a continous, open medium for pedestrians to cross, also forming part of the proposed green network. This will connect to the proposed DLR bridge in the east, connecting East India Dock Road to Canary Wharf. This will promote and enable pedestrian use of the road, supporting commercial activities to flourish.
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2.3 Modify suitable buildings for commercial use: The western end of East India Dock Road has a large number of flatroofed single use residential buildings. These should be modified by extending them vertically, moving up ground-floor residents (where they are able-bodied) and activating ground floor spaces for commercial activity. This will diversify the mix of uses, creating a more vibrant environment and encouraging public engagement with the road, supporting the local economy. These modifications should be negotiated as planning gains within permitted developments in the east of Poplar, which are built to support the burgeoning Canary Wharf working population.
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3.1 Redevelop and densify residential buildings: long term, redevelopment and densification of residential buildings, both on and surrounding, East India Dock Road is recommended. This should be achieved sequentially, to minimise disruption, replacing existing low-quality housing stock with denser units. Modified blocks from phase 2 will be exempt. This can be achieved with moderate increases in height, following the template of the New Festival Quarter in the north east of Poplar, which achieves density without sacrificing on identity or character (see examplar box). Redevelopment will designate ground-floors for businesses, activating frontages for commercial useage along East India Dock Road, whilst diversifying and increasing the population, thus increasing demand for various commercial outputs, including retail, leisure and food. It will also increase the permeability of the urban structure between East India Dock Road and Poplar High Street, increasing connectivity to East India Dock Road’s commercial offering. To prevent gentrification the council should partner with private developers to ensure redevelopment provides mixed-tenure,
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encouraging private investment for the project, whilst retaining 40% of units to meet increasing social-housing need. The council must also retain control of ground-floor retail lots, to manage prices.
Exemplar: New Festival Quarter Responding to the local context of lower density blocks, the New Festival Quarter development blends together a careful assemblage of smaller and larger blocks that achieves greater density without being incongrous with its surroundings. The development utilises a mix of tenures and building types. It also provides several communal spaces and green roofs, whilst mixing ground-floor uses, with a public gym, nursery, community hall and shops. By mixing uses and providing communal and commercial space, social interactions and vitality are encouraged, that allow the development to make a significant contribution to community life and promote local economic exchange. Projects that offer such social value are likely to more sustainable long-term. This model is recommended as a template for the proposed redevelopment of other residential areas in Poplar.
Locations of proposed redevelopments and existing New Festival Quarter development
The New Festival Quarter development
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Proposed development of East India Dock Road Location of street sections presented
The current street section (right) highlights issues of vehicle dominance, narrow pavements, unutilised spaces and railed off pedestrians, all of which currently limit the commercial success of East India Dock Road.
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Following proposed development and pedestrianisation, East India Dock Road will be far more suited to local pedestrian movement, with a less restricted, cardominant environment. The central green corridor will provide a more pleasant public realm and also offers continous easy roadcrossing along the road. The increased pedestrians will benefit from the activated frontages which will be utilised for commercial activities, focusing on retail. East India Dock Road will be transformed into a vibrant and pleasant destination.
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Existing East India Dock Road eastbound street section
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Proposed East India Dock Road street section following pedestrianisation and development
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Representation of proposed resedential redevelopments in Poplar (Image: Stock Woolstencroft Architects)
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3.2: Socio-cultural branch 32
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3.2.1 Socio-cultural Policy Vision Social life is an essential element of every city district as it constitutes its beating heart.
1. Reinforce community Poplar’s exisiting residents face the immediate threat of gentrification. Building social life around these residents and involving them in every stage of the process is recommended to stem this tide and allow the community to come together through available platforms and have a strong presence. Further, community-building should be instigated through communication and interaction that will result in a feeling of belonging. Therefore, social life will connect citizens of different social, class, ethnic groups minimising any mistrust and tension born by isolation. More specifically, planned residential projects, including Blackwall Reach and the Tower Hamlets’ housing goal mean that a new population will be settling in the area. A dynamic social life would accelerate the process of integrating the new population with the existing community, acting as a melting pot for all residents. Finally, providing suitable conditions and platforms for people to come together, interact, and exchange ideas would encourage civic engagement, reinforcing the democratic values within the local society.
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2. Enhance safety
4. Reform private and public space
Increasing levels of human presence and social activity, and increasing safety, are mutually reinforcing. This strategy recommends a doublepronged approach of making city streets and spaces feel welcoming and secure, and encouraging residents to use and interact in public space. This will allow the enhancement of both social life in Poplar, and in the percieved and actual safety of the area.
The public realm should challenge the established hierarchy and primarily focus on the needs of pedestrians by providing them more space. Furthermore, additions to public facilities are deemed essential for hosting the proposed activities. Private space is also pivotal for sustaining social life. Reflecting this, large-scale reforms concerning land uses are proposed.
3. Provide cultural, culinary and night scenes Food is culturally associated with social interaction. Therefore, it should be used as the stable foundation upon which social life can be built. Specifically investing in traditional cuisine can safeguard and promote local heritage, whilst providing unique and highly recognisable character. For example, Bangladeshi-fusion cuisine can be used to represent the large Bangladeshi population of Poplar and inspire cultural integration. Providing bars and interesting nightlife should be used to integrate young people in local social life. Finally, promoting the arts should be used also to stimulate social life; this can aid in the promotion of local heritage and of intergrating Poplar’s various cultural groups. It can also be an educational and a mentally cathartic experience.
5. Intergrate the student population Any student population is a vibrant, dynamic group is valuable for the regeneration of society either by contributing to the local economy or by challenging the dominant values with progressive ideas. Planning strategies should thus target them and encourage them to venture outside education spaces, to become socially active in the larger area. 6. Attract neighbouring populations Poplar has notoriously been disconnected from neighbouring districts, particularly Canary Wharf. Planning spatially strategic developments and highlighting the uniqueness of the local character should be used in order to transform Poplar into a hub of social activity for the larger area.
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Poplar: Branching Out
7. Respect local characteristics Poplar has both a distinct working-class identity based on its maritime past. Meanwhile, contemporary Poplar has a very multi-cultural population, with a large Islamic contingent. These various identities and cultural backgrounds should be taken into account. For example social activities based upon consumption of alcohol need to be approached with caution and the needs of Poplar’s exisiting population must be met.
Visualisation of a high-street utilised as a social hub, with pedestrianised street; a strong, open public realm that encourgaes social interaction; and a vibrant culinary scene.
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3.2.2 In Action: Poplar High Street Background Poplar High Street is envisioned as Poplar’s hub of social life and activities. This reflects its exisiting characteristics. Firstly, its urban form of dense city blocks retain the human scale, shaping a street of contained width (13,5m). This built form encourages more intimate, social human presence than the wider East India Dock Road (20m), which this strategy designates for commercial activity. Further, its strategic location, close to landmarks including All Saints Church, Poplar Recreational Ground and East India Dock Road, mean social life naturally radiates around it. It is also convenient for the major actors that the strategy seeks to include, such as students (New City College is situated on the street) and the neighbouring population of Canary Wharf. Finally, the two DLR stations (Poplar and All Saints) ensure that Poplar High Street is easily accessible.
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1.1 Reform the public realm The goal is to provide a platform for socialising, to allow social activities to emerge naturally. To that end, the pedestrianisation of Poplar High Street is proposed; boldly making human presence a priority. This measure specifically deals with the lack of public space in Poplar, while still not being disruptive to the traffic circulation, since this street is considered a minor road according to the street hierarchy. Finally, the rest of the benefits that are associated with pedestrianisation are also present here; sustainable mobility is promoted, the built heritage of Poplar is brought out in an appropriate environment reinforcing its identity and the overall standard of living is impacted. Finally, utilising the SLOAP permit system discussed above, underutilised spaces around Poplar High Street will be available for interactive public projects such as art installations and film screenings, helping encourage human interaction.
Visualisation of reformed SLOAP
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Proposed re-circulation of local traffic to allow Poplar High Street to pedestrianise
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1.2 Creating a destination Regarding the private sphere initiatives concerning food services are proposed. This type of activities is introduced in order to make the most out of the prior pedestrianisation and collectively to give people a place and a purpose to gather; that will in turn start making Poplar High Street a destination in the public conscience. Since in this phase the main concern is laying a solid foundation, actions of low economic risk are favoured; any idea that is breaking new ground comes with a great amount of risk, that is why any involvement of substantial capital is averted. A street food market consisting of stands and kiosks which are both cheap and quick to set up is in accordance with this mindset more so than creating new establishments. The typology of buildings around Poplar High Street is limiting because it is exclusively residential-oriented, so a commercial transformation would have to be large scale and thus a commitment economically.
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1.3 Educating to prepare for change It is deemed necessary to start preparing early on for the upcoming large-scale interventions of the next stage. Then a locally-led further emergence of food-centric activities and uses will be enabled. So, regarding the vocational skills needed for the local operation to operate this kind of business, free afternoon classes can be provided by the local educational institutes, such as the New City College, which happens to have a lot of relative courses (e.g. culinary arts). In exchange multiple spaces within the city are granted to the College reinforcing its services. Finally, other local initiatives offering technical skills training, such as the R-Urban and the Idea Store, can be supported. Camden Lock Market: as proposed in the first phase, this market occupies an outdoor area and offers a large selection of fast food stall.
Poplar: Branching Out
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2.1 Solidify the culinary offering In this phase the initial changes in the direction of local planning have become normalised, Poplar High Street is a focal point in the community and people have experienced and have been familiarised with the importance of a protected and well-organised hub of social life, that does not serve the commercial use but rather the opposite. Additional primary measures and developments in other parts of Poplar, such as in Chrisp Street Market, have also contributed to the rise of the region’s overall value. So, the circumstances are appropriate for the redevelopment plans of Poplar High Street and for the rejuvenation of Poplar’ social life in general to advance into the next stage. This partially means providing permanent eating establishments, which also implies a change in the typology of the surrounding buildings’ ground level. However, alongside a safer economic landscape this proposal needs a second precondition; new houses being available thanks to the densification also occuring in this phase. This is because these dwellings, a large portion of which is dedicated to social use, can guarantee a smooth and free transfer to the residents that have to relocate. At the same time changing the typology addresses the issue of inactive frontages that make the street feel insecure and devoid of life; a phenomenon associated mainly with the residential use.
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More specifically, restaurants are proposed as they can function individually as socialising points within the wider environment of the High Street. It is essential to emphasise that the cuisine should blend tradition with Poplar’s varied cultural identiies in order to promote local heritage and to shape an authentic character. Furthermore, coffee shops can successfully combine private and public space by extending their activity to the pavement. Justifiably the proposed vision can raise concerns about potentially reinforcing the already existing threat of gentrification. Taking into consideration questions about whether the locals can afford to undertake this costly transformation or if they can start a business, counter-measures defending the population have been introduced in the socialequity vision. In terms of funding a favourable, flexible lending scheme targeting specifically the local population permits a longer period of pay-off. This regulation does not force the owners to raise the prices, that they would otherwise do to cope with the loan, and in turn the local customers are not cut-off. Moreover, using the capable workforce that has been created since the first stage to find the necessary personnel should guarantee that this undertaking is truly locally-led.
Existing food places that are generic, non-representative of local culture and don’t encourage any social gathering
Traditional Bangladeshi Food. Samosa; pastries filled with potatoes, peas and spices
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Proposed transfer of culinary activities into permenant establishments that promote an animated street level through active frontages
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Proposed changes to typology
Typology type 2: residential use with receded frontages
Proposed action: extended frontage (with green rooftop)
Typology type 3: residential use
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Typology type 1: existing shop
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2.2 Creating a multi-levelled cultural hub A further way to promote social gatherings on Poplar High Street is the creation of a cultural hub. This endeavour has two parts. Firstly, by redeveloping a 700 m² area, currently being used as parking lot, a new artistic venue, the Amphitheatre, is added to Poplar. This facility can host theatrical and musical events featuring predominantly local talent. This addition wants to become an extension of the Poplar Union, the existing arts and community centre run by local that nurtures the untapped creativity and to take advantage of their expertise in order to offer art classes and workshops. Concerning its funding a synergy with the colleges could be achieved, since it is planned to be shared (see: Open Campus). It is worth mentioning that in ancient Athens, Pericles had applied the ‘Theorika’ regulation, which ensured that any theatrical performance would be free for all recognising its educational importance. The same regulation of ‘Theorika’ is also proposed for the activities hosted by Poplar’s Amphitheatre. The second part of the cultural hub is involved with the animation of the public space. Using street art, such as sculptures and murals that showcase the naval legacy, can result in an engaging environment. Furthermore, street events such as dance classes, can significantly contribute to the street’s vibrancy.
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Poplar: Branching Out
Proposed street art showcasing Poplar’s naval heritage and creating an engaging environment
Street events such as lessons in Kathak a traditional Bangladeshi dance
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Aerial view of the proposed pedestrianised Poplar High Street, with Amphitheatre situated on the east end
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2.3 Poplar High Street as an Open Campus As it has become evident by now, the plans for the revitalisation of Poplar’s social life are ambitious. Therefore, relying solely on the local population’s support is not sufficient. That is the reason why planning sees a great opportunity in the institutions of higher education located in the area. The idea of turning Poplar into an Open Campus uses students as an additional driving force behind the proposed developments. In addition to that, the aim of this concept is to embrace and celebrate one of Poplar’s strongest asset by putting it in the forefront of the community and by reinforcing its function. Poplar as an Open Campus means that the city provides essential services and facilities that are lacking from the New City College’s and the University of Cumbria’s spatially limited campuses, so in turn the city itself becomes an organic part of the universities. Following the reforms and the new constructions on Poplar High Street plenty of available space can be found. Alongside these, existing facilities can also contribute. More specifically, the Open Campus consists of: - Study spaces; the New City College’s current ones are described as inefficient and inflexible by the university itself. They are located on Poplar High Street. - Student union-owned cafeteria and refectory, including discounts offered at the establishments on Poplar High Street.
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- Athletic facilities; University of Cumbria in particular promotes the UoC Active, an effort to make sports and exercise as inclusive as possible. These services can be offered to the students without charge by the Poplar Baths Leisure Centre and Gym, including a swimming pool, a gym and a rooftop football pitch. It is owned by GLL, a nonprofit charitable social enterprise and it is located on the East India Docks Road. - The proposed Amphitheatre hosting activities from any artistic or musical society. The expected outcome of this strategy is to channel students into the community, spatially and socially, by making the whole city part of their every day transport patterns and by giving them a reason to get to know the wider area with which until recently they had no strong ties.
Key components of proposed open campus around Poplar High Street
Poplar Baths Leisure Centre
Amphitheatre
Study space Cafeteria
Refectory
3.2.3 In Action: Northern Docks
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Poplar: Branching Out
Background
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The Northern Docks occupy a strategic point in the wider region as they are the part of Canary Wharf that is closest to the proposed connecting bridge to Poplar. However, currently the full utilisation of this space is limited by the presence of Billingsgate Fish Market, which is the main establishment in the area. The market both functionally and physically limits social activity in this area. However, with the planned relocation of the fish market to Barking Reach, this strategy proposes that the vacant site be harnessed to provide a social night life to the people of Poplar.
2.1 Making Billingsgate Market a social venue Nightlife activity, including bars, is deliberately excluded from proposals for a social hub in Poplar High Street. This aims to be considerate of local culture with the local population predominantly Muslim, to avoid alienating them from the project. However, a vibrant nightlife is essential for satisfying the social needs of young people and eventually successfully attracting this demographic. The relocation of Billingsgate Market was decided by the London Coporation in early 2019. Thus, in phase 2, the redevelopment of the vacant market site is recommended to bolster social activity and host nightlife. The market is far enough from every day life on Poplar High Street to be respectful, but still in such proximity that under the right
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Location of Billingsgate Market circumstances it can function in a unified manner with Poplar High Street. This proposal, alongside the North Dock Floating Park, aims to regenerate the Northern Docks, since this area is considered the connecting link between Canary Wharf and Poplar. Expanding the social activities of Canary Wharf further north and creating a destination at the shared border ensures that, when the connecting bridge, discussed in the Connectivity Strategy, is completed, there will be two mirroring hubs at each end, encouraging the bilateral flow of people and activities.
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Visualisation of proposed ‘MRKT’ nightclub at the Billingsgate Market site
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3.3 Social Equity Branch 46
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3.3.1 Social Equity Policy Vision This strategy aims to encourage social equity by focusing on four key policy areas through which a more cohesive and equitable society can be envisoned.
2. Education
3. Safety
Social housing is one of the defining aspects of Poplar’s urban structure, and an important asset, providing safety and security to a large proportion of the local population.
Education is a major contributor to economic success, providing the skills to develop businesses, succeed in entrepreneurial activities and work in technical and high-skill job positions.
This strategy responds to the need for increased social housing in Poplar, by densifying the stock. Additionally, it aims to minimise disruption and disadvantage to current social housing residents by recommending a policy of continuous social housing provision. Finally, this strategy ensures that plans for social housing development are publically published prior to implementation to ensure transparency for current residents, enabling them to become familiarised with the plans and thus continue to engage with the community and their daily routines, without fear or stress of disruption.
Poplar is endowed with two higher-education institutions, with New City College and University of Cumbria London Campus. These institutions should be exploited, with access to educational opportunities for the local population prioritised. This will provide vocational and technical training to local people, broadening career opportunities, thus increasing the economic and social mobility in Poplar.
Lack of safety, perceived or actual, is a concern among residents of Poplar. Lack of safety undermines sense of community and cohesion within the local population due to a lack of trust of other residents and inability to feel comfortable in the neighbourhood. This leads to residents spending more time indoors compared to areas where safety is less of a concern. This is made worse by a poorly planned built environment, with a large concentration of confined alleyways and a lack of eyes-on-the-street. This creates a disproportionately negative urban experience compared with wealthier neighbourhoods.
1. Social Housing
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This strategy aims to increase residents’ perceived safety and security, enabling them to spend more time outside, with their neighbours, and visitors to the community. This will increase the sense of community and vitatlity of Poplar, improving resident’s urban experience.
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4. Community Orientation Economic growth often fails to result in community growth, particularly disadvantaging lower income communities. Promoting community growth can help to overcome some of these issues, helping to form more resilient, self-sufficient communities. To increase community growth, this plan advocates for community gardening, comfortable outdoor space, and shared experiences with fellow residents. This will harness the economic growth promoted in the commercial vision for Poplar to forward projects which encourage community orientation, such as restaurants and community spaces on Poplar High Street. Policies should focus on connecting residents, such as local residentsownership of kiosks and pop-up commercial lots; urban farming proejcts; and supporting local skill networks, this plan works towards communal neighbourhood orientation.
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To increase educational opportunities for local people the council should collaborate with the higher-education institutions in Poplar; in return for providing an ‘Open Campus’ to make Poplar an attractive destination for students, it is expcexted that New CityCollege should provide free afternoon courses for adults in Poplar. helping to build skills and confidence, increasing employment prospects. They should also provide free CV-writing support. Additionally, both both higher education institutions should be offered decreased rents, proportional to the number of local students they accept, supporting opportunities and upward mobility for local younger people.
1.2 Micro-financing part 1 During phase 1, the council should fund a small microfinancing scheme for entrepreneurial residents. This should invovle a lending scheme, providing money to allow residents to start their own small businesses. Kiosks will be provided by the city, therein the only investment by residents will be for initial business costs. This will be low upfront investment with much room for growth. Because of this, the city can count on investment return by both the repayment of the loan, the incoming tax revenue from new businesses and the incoming rental revenue by profitable businesses housed in buildings owned by Poplar. By providing the current residents with the ability to start a business they are provided with the opportunity to profit from the restructuring of their neighbourhood. 1.4 Continous social housing part 1 A policy of continuous social housing should be used to guarantee minimal displacement of social housing residents. This will mean that residents should remain in their current homes untill a new unit has been developed. To begin this process, vacant space will be prioritised for redevelopment during phase one.
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1.1 Education As part of the residential redevelopment discussed in the commercial vision, the social housing stock of Poplar would be densified. This should be enforced with a continous policy that 40% of any housing developments built by private developers should contribute to the social housing stock. This will meet rising social house demand.
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3.3.2 Social Equity Policy: In Action
2.1 Continous social housing part 2 During phase two, vacated homes will be redeveloped. Pop-up kiosks will be placed in front of these buildings to maintain social funcion until redevelopment is complete; once complete, the ground-floor frontages of these buildings will be activated and made available for permenant commercial activity, providing opportunities for locals. Redevelopments will also improve the built environment, promoting feelings of safety. 2.2 Micro-financing part 2 During phase 2, the micro-financing programme should be expanded to support local people in taking advantage of the increased commercial spaces made available by the activated frontages discussed above. This will ensure the continued provision of opportunties for local people and allow them to remain at the heart of Poplar’s future.
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Vision of urban agriculture in Poplar
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3.1 Urban agriculture Long-term, urban-agriculture should be promoted, by providing the green spaces discussed in the greening vision for Poplar (DLR Park and Newby Place). Urban agriculture offers an opportunity for community building among residents , improving their urban experience, promoting cohesion, trust and feelings of safety. It also provides a means of managing social and economic insecurity, food deserts and environmental degradation. Urban farming provides food itself, alongside skills in food growing and a potential source to begin a business. This should be supported by the council by providing the space and technical assistance in managing urban farms. 3.2 Densification of social housing As part of the residential redevelopment discussed in the commercial vision, the social housing stock of Poplar would be densified. This should be enforced with a continous policy that 40% of any housing developments built by private developers should contribute to the social housing stock. This will meet rising social house demand.
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3.4: Urban Greening Branch 51
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3.4.1 Urban Greening Policy Vision
1. Introduce sustainability measures
2. Urban Agriculture
3. Repurpose SLOAP
All new development projects in Poplar should be built with Bioregional’s One Planet Living framework in mind. Any developer who chooses to work in direct partnership with Bioregional to meet the One Planet Living standards will have their permit process prioritised. The Branching Out strategy also advocates for all new developments in Poplar to include greenery on at least 50% of the roof surfaces or exterior wall surfaces. This policy will serve to increase the biodiversity in Poplar, improve air quality, increase access to private green spaces, reduce the heat island effect, and ultimately continue the expansion of the green network system. The implementation of “biosolar” green roofs is also recommended, which combine native plant species with PV solar panels (Catalano and Baumann 2017). Integrating solar panels in the design of the green roofs will both generate renewable electricity and provide shade and heat reduction for the plants. This form of biomimicry helps to create a balanced and diverse ecosystem in a way similar to that of natural systems. The inclusion of green roofs also help to absorb noise pollution, which has been noted as a point of concern from residents in the 2019 Poplar Neighborhood Planning Forum.
To incorporate an organic localised food model, this plan includes the creation of additional urban agriculture plots within Poplar. When possible, each newly added permanent public green space should dedicate a minimum of 10% of the total land to community gardening. Land dedicated to urban agriculture will be zoned for 15 years to ensure the enduring nature of community gardening in Poplar. Businesses farming in urban space will find an easy and straightforward process to permitting for sale of produce. Available plots will be allocated on an application basis, with priority given to residents of Poplar who have a proposed business plan. Applications will be accompanied by a fee of £25, which will initially be dedicated to an endowment, and then later used to fund things such as community education in urban gardening, technical assistance in composting, and maintenance of local composting facilities. Renewal of business permits with allocated gardening plots will be available after a 5-year period for an additional £25 fee. To protect businesses growing produce in the public realm, and to increase feelings of community security, local laws criminalising destruction of crops will be adopted.
Using the previously mentioned permit system applied to SLOAP, underutilised public land within Poplar will become free for repurposing with permit. Each applicant must explain their project’s use of the SLOAP, and how it will benefit the community in order to be approved by council. Greening related SLOAP permit options may include uses such as gardening, composting, and eco-educational workshops for both adults and children. This policy intervention has the capacity to provide improved access to public green spaces, improve the attractiveness of the public realm, and educate the community on important environmental topics.
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4. Introduce waste mitigation programe As part of advocating for an entirely green system, this plan works to connect residents of Poplar to all aspects of greening, including community waste sorting and recycling services. This goal is achieved by collaborating with local colleges, investing in the construction of recycling and composting facilities, and enacting local policies that mandate all new development projects to include three-bin waste sorting receptacles. The three-bin system includes landfill, recycling, and compost. In order to involve and educate the loc al community on the importance of waste prevention, this plan adopts a zero waste (ZW) college program. ZW can be introduced as an elective course at both New City College and Cumbria University. For part of that elective, students participating will have the opportunity to present guest lessons to children in nearby primary and secondary schools about important zero waste concepts such as recycling, composting, and eco-conscious consumerism. Those studying in New City College’s “Early Years & Childcare” and “Teacher Training” programs and University of Cumbria’s “Education Studies” and “Primary Education” programs might be of particular interest in an educational outreach program of this nature. In addition, we are looking to strengthen recycling
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culture in Poplar. Currently, the borough of Tower Hamlets offers either curbside bag or purple bin recycling collection services to residents, depending on housing type (Tower Hamlets Council 2019). This plan would also require the addition of labeled three-bin systems in public areas such as parks, public transit, and sidewalks in order to provide residents and visitors with more opportunities to properly dispose of their recyclable materials while out and about. Alongside the three-bin system, this plan also provides permitting for local, small-scale organic composting sites in well-functioning community gardens and public parks. The money collected from urban agriculture business applications will help to pay for technical assistance in this project, and it will be run by those already participating in urban farming in Poplar. These residents will then be able to use this compost for use in their respective gardening plots.
Poplar: Branching Out
5. Protect and improve biodiversity Through the addition of large open green spaces, green roofs, and overall improvement of the green network system, this plan works to make Poplar even more diverse and resilient by enhancing the biodiversity of its flora and fauna. Consciously choosing native plants that sequester carbon, provide habitats for local animal species, and attract pollinating insects is a crucial part of sustainably reaching this goal and will be required for all new development projects within the area. Appropriate native plant species are recommended to be chosen in accordance with the Royal Horticultural Society’s list of native UK plants. The addition of bird houses in outdoor spaces is also strongly encouraged. If applied for, bird boxes will be either fully or partially subsidised by the funds collected from the gardening plot permits, depending on the means available at the time.
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3.4.3 In Action: Newby Place Urban Gardening
In the initial phase of the Branching Out strategy, new plots for tenured community gardening from underutilised land in front of row houses on Newby Place will be created. Residents living on Newby Place will be given priority for these plots, but applications from other Poplar residents will also be accepted if space allows. Through the establishment of these gardening plots, we hope to enrich, inspire, and expand the already existing urban farming culture that exists within Poplar. As later stages develop, this will also form part of a continous green network, connecting All Saints Church, to the immediate east, and the proposed DLR Park to the immediate west.
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Visualisation of proposed Newby Place urban garden
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3.4.4 In Action: Floating Park
In order to further increase the offering of green spaces available for public use, specifically in the region south of the A1216 road, this strategy calls for the creation of a floating park on the North Dock. This space will function as a destination as well as a green-blue network connector. The floating park is proposed to have bench seating, three-bin waste receptacles, native foliage, lighting, and a small cafe that utilises organic and locally sourced ingredients. The floating park will serve as a space for various types of activities depending on the time of day. Events held in the evening will be specifically aimed at helping to establish the Northern Docks as the nightlife hub of the area. The chart below depicts a potential schedule of events that would take place at the floating park over the course of a 24-hour period.
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Visualisation of proposed Floating Park
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The Branching Out strategy involves building a park over a section of the District Light Rail rail line between Poplar High Street and the entrance to All Saints station. This investment creates a new urban green space in Poplar as well as a portion of an attractive connection to Canary Wharf. This strategically located park also helps to physically connect the eastern and western Poplar communities, which would otherwise be partially separated by the large gap created by the DLR tracks. As this is one of the larger scale projects within the Branching Out strategy, the completion of the DLR Park is anticipated to occur within Phase 3. As a public project, funding will mainly be sourced from Section 106, with the potential to be supplemented by private investors or funding organisations such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Aimed at providing a safe and exciting space for pedestrians and cyclists alike, the DLR park includes a designated walking path and cycling lane, gardening allotments, a composting site, ample lighting, and space for community led events. Sustainably sources movable furniture, such as the design proposed by Pilot Projects Design Collective for their Battery Park chairs, are recommended to create a more customisable experience for visitors (Pilot Projects 2012).
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Rolling chair design by Pilot Projects Design Collective.
Vision of the northern (East India Dock Road) entrance to the proposed DLR Park.
Group C2 Visualisation of the aerial view of the proposed DLR Park
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3.4.5 In Action: Green Network
Visualisation of proposed Green Network in Poplar
In combination with the previously mentioned central green corridor along East India Dock Road and the inclusion of new green roofs along Poplar High Street developments, the creation of the DLR Park, Newby Place Garden, and Floating Park will provide the basis for an integrated green network, which will be completed upon the construction of the pedestrian bridge connecting to Canary Wharf. A vision map of the final green network extensions created within the Branching Out strategy is provided in the adjacent image.
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3.5: Connectivity Branch 59
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3.5.1 Connectivity Policy Vision Through policy this strategy aims to enhance connectivity in Poplar, both physical and social, as a means of promoting urban accessiblity, intergration of the population and opportunities.
Part 1: Physical Connectivity 1. Improve permeability and legibility The area contains many narrow, illegible roads, and a large number of cul-de-sacs, creating a space that is confusing and difficult to navigate. For the general salience of the area, and particularly with the introduction of the proposed commercial and sociocultural hubs, the legibility and permeability of the area must be improved. To improve permeability and encourage use of points of interest, wider, safer, more vibrant, and more active pedestrian connections must be made, particularly in the block between Poplar High Street and East India Dock Road. Furthermore, improvements to streets on desire lines must be made, such as streets leading to transport nodes, or streets around educational institutions. Shifting the focus from infrastructure provision for motorised transport modes to active transport (like walking and cycling) would also help with making the area more permeable.
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Part 2: Social Connectivity 2. Improve accessibility to Canary Wharf
3. Increase encounters with Canary Wharfers
Poplar’s public transport is currently limited the Docklands Light Railway, which serves only East London, limiting wider accessibility, and buses, with 3 primary lines running mostly on a horizontal axis, terminating around the City and Central London.
Increasing social and human interaction between the residents of Poplar and Canary Wharf wil help bring the two communities together. Currently, the spatial divide between the two areas results in very little opportunity for encounter between the two communities. There is no shared public space or civil institutions, and little reason to mingle. To remedy this, two hubs on either side of the A1216 should be created to draw residents from the other side. In this situation, the sociocultural hubs of Poplar High Street and the Northern Docks act as community magnets. This is strengthened by the development of a neutral space (the connecting bridge discussed in the next section) exactly in between those two hubs, where the two communities can come together and facilitate encounter in a space which does not feel like it belongs to a particular side of the area.
In the short to medium term, improving bus access on the vertical axis and expanding the reach of buses from Poplar to wider London will improve accessibility, social mobility and vibrancy, as more people visit Poplar. Further, improving bus access between Poplar and Canary Wharf will begin to bridge the gap between the two areas, providing the primary infrastructure for the two neighbours to interact more regularly. Longer term, expanding tube lines to Poplar, along existing DLR tracks, will provide better connectivity to London, increasing Poplar’s draw and allowing outsiders to enjoy Poplar as a destination, once it is redeveloped. This will help Poplar’s residents access jobs further away, helping to rejuvenate the local economy.
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4. Improve social mobility In order to help bridge the economic and social (and ultimately physical) gap between Poplar and Canary Wharf, Poplar’s residents must have increased access to opportunity both internally and in neighbouring areas. Increasing professional interaction between the two neighbourhoods would help create a seamless, symbiotic space that is inclusive and welcoming. This can be done by guaranteeing access for local residents to apprenticeship programs in the neighbouring educational institutes University of Cumbria (London campus) and New City College. This would help improve human and social capital in the area. Furthermore, in order to create new opportunities for residents of Poplar and improve job mobility into Canary Wharf, new and specialised apprenticeships should be created for Poplar residents at firms in Canary Wharf to build valuable business, finance, and legal skills and provide residents with charterships, accreditations, and experience to then empower them to grow organically.
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3.5.2 In Action: Improving Legibility and Accessibility
At the moment, there are only 4 passageways between Poplar High Street and East India Dock Road, and the structure of the roads limits the legibility and permeability of the area. For example, the roads are narrow with little sidewalk space and a lot of on-street parking. There is also no indirect signalling that this road will lead directly from one side to the other. Other roads (as shown in the adjacent diagram), despite being open for pedestrians, look uninviting due to fencing and narrow lanes. Below are two potential ways to improve the quality of the streets to make the area more permeable by improving indirect signaling to pedestrians.
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Current passageways between Poplar High Street and East India Dock Road
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Potential strategy 1: Indirectly signalling that this is a primary street for access between two main roads by fully pedestrianising the street and by placing focal points (like fountains or statues) on the mouth of the road
Potential strategy 2: In accordance with the vision for road structure in East India Dock Road and Poplar High Street, other roads could be made single-lane with wider sidewalks and signage to signal there the street leads to.
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Poplar: Branching Out
Current pathway between New City College and Poplar DLR station.
Potential strategy 3: Paths such as the one between New City College and the Poplar DLR station, which lies on a desire line sustaining heavy foot traffic, must be widened and become more inviting. This can be done by brightening up the space using greenery and artwork, as well as by signaling and signage of the station ahead, and finally by making the street wider, either in structural or indirect ways as visualised in the adjacent images.
Visualised pathway between New City College and Poplar DLR station.
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Potential strategy 4: Proposed tube extension involving the Jubliee Line being diverted along a forked route at Canary Wharf; using existing infrastructure of the DLR line, including Poplar and All Saints DLR stations, the line runs to Bow Road .
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3.5.3 In Action: Pedestrian Bridge
A pedestrian and cycling bridge is proposed to link Poplar High Street and the DLR park with the Northern Dock and the markets and spaces surrounding it. The function of the bridge is to provide easy and attractive access between the two neighbourhoods to push individuals to explore new areas, as well as to improve the capabilities of Poplar residents who currently have poor public transport accessibility. Beyond the pedestrian transport function, the bridge would also serve as a market place and social space for the two communities to interact, and to exclusively host the microfinanced ventures of locals. Finally, the bridge is part of the green corridor, connecting the DLR park with the Crossrail Place Roof Garden. The bridge would also become a destination from people outside of the two neighbourhoods, as it holds great aesthetic values through the views overlooking Canary Wharf, the docks, and a westfacing vista of the rest of London. Bracketed by the two hubs, the bridge completes the vision of connectivity of all the elements to be renovated in Poplar.
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Visualised pedestrian bridge connecting the Northern Dock to Poplar High Street and the DLR Park. View looking north towards Poplar High Street.
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4.1 Phasing
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During phase 1, the main aim is to initiate the transformation of Poplar High Street and East India Dock Road through small-scale interventions, gradually establishing them as hubs of social and commercial activity respectively.
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During phase 2, the commercial activity is expanded to East India Dock Road, where the diversion of non-local traffic allows a pedestrianorientated environment to emerge. At the same time, Poplar High Street’s function as the social core is strongly reinforced by the formation of the Open Campus, the Amphitheatre and the large reforms to building typology enabling culinary activities. All the prior proposals are intertwined through the green network. Over in Canary Wharf, the regeneration of the Northern Docks constitutes the missing link between the two areas.
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During phase 3, a transformed Poplar rich in social and commercial offerings has matured enough to receive the influx of population as a result of densification and to become a destination, making use of the connecting infrastructure to Canary Wharf and the improved tube coverage.
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4.3 Funding
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5.1 Concluding Remarks Poplar is fast approaching a critical point in its development as a “Growth Borough”, an area of strong potential growth, potentially a launch-pad from which Britain can begin to move away from economic depression as a whole. Our strategy has worked on “creating a lasting legacy of renewal for what has traditionally been London’s and the UK’s poorest area and a major boost for [the] UK” (Growth Borough). This Urban Design Framework sets out an inclusive strategy which increases commercial opportunities in Poplar, honours and protects cultural heritage, connects residents, greens the urban form and harnesses the momentum of capital flow to ensure change occurs for the benefit of both future and existing residents of Poplar. By both harnessing underutilised spaces and redeveloping poorly functioning existing built infrastructure, this strategy aims to support and strengthen Poplar’s commercial offering, creating vibrant and diverse destinations that serve both Poplar’s existing population and visitors from further afield. By creating the appropriate conditions in both the private and the public realm and by investing in the proper activities there is potential to integrate all the major actors into a vibrant social life. By improving the road structure and pedestrianising areas of critical importance, as
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well as by fortifying paths along desire lines, and building a bridge to improve the social and physical connectivity between Poplar and Canary Wharf, this strategy seeks to close the divide between the twoneighbouring areas. By constructing new public green spaces and increasing urban agriculture offerings in a manner that prioritses the promotion of biodiversity, this strategy will enable Poplar to become a resilient and sustainability oriented district. Finally, by considering how to protect current residents from gentrification, this plan takes a step further and works to harness the increased commerce and flow of people through Poplar to increase employment opportunities. Specifically, this plan creates opportunities for current esidents to earn qualifications in their chosen field, open a business, and sustain said business. Through all of the previously mentioned policies, this Urban Design Framework weaves together aspects of commerce, social life, connectivity, green spaces and social equity to work towards a sustainable, growth oriented community which is resistent to gentrification.
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5.2 Contributions As in any creative endeavor the lines between each individual contribution are vague, since it involves a lot of opinion-sharing through extensive dialogues. Therein, this project was made with equal contributions from all. Ewan held the master document, and arranged all of the images and texts on the document. Ewan also created the lead pages for our policies. Along with doing all of the text and graphics placement, he wrote the policies and actions for thecommercial arena in Poplar, and worked on the restructuring of East India Dock Road. Ewan also contributed to the conclusion, phasing, vision, site context and SWOT. Ewan worked collaboratively to create a comprehensive vision. Fatma wrote and designed graphics for the intro and urban context, while also completing the connectivity portion of this document, including bridge diagrams and connectivity maps. She also worked on the conclusion. Fatma worked collaboratively to create a comprehensive vision. Jacq wrote the policy and helped provide images for the social equity portion of this project. She also designed the content, conclusions, phasing, vision and SWOT. Jacq also helped to write the policy for Urban Greening, contributed to site context and wrote the conclusion framework. Jacq worked collaboratively to create a comprehensive vision. Devin made the graphics for the DLR park and the Floating Park. She also helped with graphics for the whole project, serving as our team master render-er. Devin also wrote the policy for Urban Greening while contributing to the phasing, vision and SWOT. Devin also contributed to site context and conclusion portions. Devin worked collaboratively to create a comprehensive vision. Christos designed the graphics and wrote the text for the socio-cultural aspect of this plan. He worked on the structure of Poplar High Street, made the phasing maps at the end, and edited text and images throughout the project. Christos also contributed to site context and conclusion. Christos worked collaboratively to create a comprehensive vision.
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5.3 Bibliography Bioregional 2019, “One Planet Living Framework” Catalanoa and Baumann 2017, “Biosolar Roofs: A Symbiosis between Biodiverse Green Roofs and Renewable Energy”, Research Gate Census, 2011 Boujenko, Jones, and Marshall, 2007: Link and Place: A Guide to Street Planning and Design Pilot Projects, 2012, “Battery Park | Chair Design” Poplar Neighborhood Planning Forum, 2019 Sheppard Robson, 2018: Chrisp Street Masterplanning Tower Hamlets Council, 2019
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