High streets: social sustainability and circular economy

High streets: social sustainability and circular economy

We regularly come back to this High Street Ecosystem diagram in our office to explain the vast yet holistic value that high streets offer. 

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High streets are well connected walkable places. Their blocks and buildings are flexible enough to support a range of uses that have often become interconnected self-sustaining ecosystems.

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Through our research we’ve learned that in greater London, over 600 high streets support over 200,000 business (41% of London’s businesses) and almost 1.5m jobs (28% of London’s jobs). These economic clusters support and boost small-scale entrepreneurial activity, give a low barrier of entry into commerce, and offer a diverse range of local and flexible work opportunities, which are often attractive to marginalised groups. 

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High Streets have an essential role to play in making a more sustainable London with opportunities to support more efficient modes of transport, waste management, reuse and circular consumption. It is through this lens that we approach our architectural and strategic work on high streets.

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The adaptive reuse of Central Parade is one example of where a partnership between the GLA, a London Borough, a proactive meanwhile use provider and ourselves has led to revitalising a stretch of high street and supporting over 20 businesses.

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More recently, we have been working on a Placemaking Strategy for a large town centre site, with a Developer and Local Authority that spans from pre-planning to after completion and seeks to work with local people and entrepreneurs to embed social value and sustainability throughout the life of the project.

Pamela Snow - Architect


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