The Healthy Streets Approach puts people and their health at the centre of decisions about how we design, manage and use public spaces. It aims to make our streets healthy, safe and welcoming for everyone.
The Approach is based on 10 Indicators of a Healthy Street which focus on the experience of people using streets.
London is facing an inactivity crisis. Over decades, machines, cars and technology have gradually taken over many of the tasks that used to require physical effort. More than 40 per cent of Londoners
do not achieve the recommended 150 minutes of activity a week; and 28 per cent do less than 30 minutes a week. Almost without realising it, we have engineered physical activity out of our daily lives.
The Mayor has asked Transport for London to put the Healthy Streets Approach at the heart of its decision making. Set out in ‘Healthy Streets for London’, this approach is a system of policies and strategies to help Londoners use cars less and walk, cycle and use public transport more often.
To achieve this it is important to plan a longer-term and coherent cycle network across London in a way that will complement walking and public transport priorities. This document provides a robust, analytical framework to help do this.
Obviously the title of this blog is a little tongue in cheek, of course motor vehicles have their place in a modern city, but maybe things have gone a little too far and it’s time to re-prioritise our valuable street space.
London is a historic city dating back to Roman times and has seen many changes throughout her days. The most recent of those is the introduction of the motor vehicle and the removal of pedestrians and cyclists from her streets.
