Knowledge Base
How the WBRA arrived at its current postion.
Just a few examples.
The WBRA’s journey began from a place of limited understanding, which initially led to some shortsighted perspectives. We are proud that today our decisions are now data and science driven.
Having spent hours studying traffic engineering, human behaviour and pollution science, below are links to just some of the articles, research publications, video clips, scientific data, surveys, websites, etc. that have informed our decision making.
Designing High Streets that Work for All
PDFs & Articles
Street shift – The future of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods
The way Londoners travel around the city is changing. This report explores the impact and effectiveness of low-traffic neighbourhoods in their overall aim of reducing private car usage in London.
The Pedestrian Pound - The business case for better streets and places
In 2013, Living Streets launched The Pedestrian Pound to highlight the hidden and underestimated economic contribution of people on foot to high street economic vitality.
Reclaiming city streets for people Chaos or quality of life?
“There are many traffic management techniques and approaches and any given city will probably need to develop a package of measures to manage traffic effectively. This new handbook sets out some case studies where road space has been reallocated for other uses. New, attractive and popular public areas can be created on sites that were once blocked by regular traffic jams. If these are properly planned, they need not result in road traffic chaos, contrary to what might be expected.”
'I got it wrong. Since the changes it's become more vibrant': life in an LTN
Guardian Article: Three low-traffic neighbourhood schemes across the UK highlight the difficulties and benefits of curbing cars to encourage cycling and walking.
Walking and Cycling: the economic benefits
This PDF from TFL outlines the economic benefits of encouraging more walking and cycling in cities. It sets out the strongest evidence from London and elsewhere, grouped into six major topic areas.
It is aimed at policy makers, local communities, officers in local and national government, business networks and everyone else who is interested in how investment in walking and cycling can create more prosperous cities.
Cowley Road retail continues to outperform in early 2024
4 factors behind Cowley Road’s success:
(1) regional variation may account for a fraction;
(2) the dynamic nature of Cowley Road, with 16 shops opening and closing in an average year;
(3) local population density, with 40,000 people living within a mile of Cowley Road;
(4) recent improvements in walking and cycling access for these residents, with Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and better cycling routes, as 75% of shoppers arrived by foot or bicycle even before these improvements.
Delivery solutions
Urban City Couriers
Offering same day courier delivery services using electric cargo bikes and trailers. Their trailers can carry pallets up to 180kg.
OurBike E-Cargo Bike Hire
The community cargo bike share scheme. Hire a cargo bike for just £3 per hour to make deliveries or transport goods. 2x Located on WBR – at PlanetPlenty and Kenrick’s Wine.
Surely building or opening more roads would solve the traffic problem, right?
Do we have a love affair with cars?
Motornomativity: How Social Norms Hide a Major Public Health Hazard
“Decisions about motor transport, by individuals and policy-makers, show unconscious biases due to cultural assumptions about the role of private cars – a phenomenon we term motonormativity. To explore this claim, a national sample of 2157 UK adults rated, at random, a set of statements about driving (“People shouldn’t drive in highly populated areas where other people have to breathe in the car fumes”) or a parallel set of statements with key words changed to shift context (“People shouldn’t smoke in highly populated areas where other people have to breathe in the cigarette fumes”). Such context changes could radically alter responses (75% agreed with “People shouldn’t smoke… ” but only 17% agreed with “People shouldn’t drive… “). We discuss how these biases systematically distort medical and policy decisions and give recommendations for how public policy and health professionals might begin to recognise and address these unconscious biases in their work.”
The Pedestrian Pound - The business case for better streets and places
In 2013, Living Streets launched The Pedestrian Pound to highlight the hidden and underestimated economic contribution of people on foot to high street economic vitality.
Note: while this video highlights fully closed, pedestrianised roads, this is not planned for WBR. However, the video has has useful data.
Books
Movement: how to take back our streets and transform our lives
What happens if we radically rethink how we use these public spaces? Could we change our lives for the better?
Curbing Traffic - The Human Case for Fewer Cars in our Lives
In Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in Our Lives, Melissa and Chris Bruntlett chronicle their experience living in the Netherlands and the benefits that result from treating cars as visitors rather than owners of the road.
Building the Cycling City
Melissa and Chris Bruntlett share the triumphs and challenges of the Dutch cycling story, show how some of the ideas are already being adopted in global cities, and draw out concrete lessons for other places to follow their lead.