The Green Spine passes through the residential heart of Lisson Grove in the City of Westminster. Building on the success of Phase 1, the extended spine will connect Marylebone Station and Edgware Road Underground to the wider pedestrian routes along the Regent's Canal.
The scheme presents a fantastic opportunity for renewed, high-quality public realm that will tie the neighbouring and diverse communities of Lisson Grove together through green infrastructure. The consultation strategy was a kickstart for this, and BD relished the opportunity to work with local groups, key stakeholders and the wider community to examine the existing issues of the urban townscape, and collaborate on new ideas.
Our concept focused on: introducing varied layers of diverse urban greening; traffic-calming; and joyful playable trails.
We have proposed cherished 'Green Links' as central oases to envelop residents in trees, raingardens and naturalistic planting. 'Living Streets' run off these and propose a shift of focus from cars to people - introducing traffic-calming and rationalised car parking to encourage a walkable community, with all the benefits of active travel, boosted activity, decreased pollution, plus a more inclusive and sociable public realm.
Playable trails weave through each of the spaces, reinforcing a dynamic character and encouraging people to connect with the wider Green Spine.
The use of a virtual reality model was a highlight of our consultation design process, giving opportunity for the public to visualise the before and after of the richly reimagined public realm proposals.
