When implementing physical improvements to the public realm, using a ‘whole area approach’ ensures the improvements complement each other and that spaces are well connected. It means improvements can be prioritised and implemented on a step-by-step basis, but with an awareness of the entire area across all green spaces, streets and estates. The improvements can be timed, connected and designed in conjunction with each phase.
EC1 NDC produced the Public Space Strategy – a document that identified a number of distinct areas within the NDC and looked at them as a whole, identifying where the areas were and how these areas could be connected. The strategy identified a Green Chain to act as a spatial framework to guide improvements throughout the area. This helped identify and prioritise the parks, spaces and streets required for change and meant that improvements to green spaces, for example, were planned in conjunction with the streets around them.
The public space strategy was not fully implemented within the NDCs timeframe, and was not intended to be, but it provides a strategy from which to base ongoing improvements in the area.
