High Streets
3 min read
What we say
The way we shop and access services has changed dramatically over the last decade. High street businesses and Councils managing the public realm are faced with a choice: to adapt to the digital economy and rising challenges, such as air pollution or face continued decline of our town centres.
A fresh look at what makes high streets enjoyable places to be is vital.
Recent research highlights evidence that by investing in the walking environment we can help to reverse this decline. It shows that shoppers on foot can spend up to six times more than those who arrive by car.
Making places better for walking underpins the quality of the consumer experience. Living Streets believes that it’s time for town centres to be rediscovered as places where people live, work, shop and socialise in order to thrive in the 21st Century.
When streets are regenerated to boost walking, there is a corresponding impact on retail turnover, property values and rental yields. Well-designed projects, can boost footfall and sales by up to 30 per cent.
Our report
Originally published in 2013 and updated in 2018, The Pedestrian Pound should be of interest to anyone concerned with the future of our high streets and urban centres.
Prepared by independent experts Just Economics, our report has become a much-quoted reference point when making the economic case for investing in better streets.
The new edition expands the evidence and for the first time explores how the digital economy impacts and interacts with the economic viability of high streets as places.
What we want
Since 1929, Living Streets has campaigned for better streets for pedestrians.
We continue to believe a focus walking can put high streets at the heart of healthy and economically vibrant communities.
We want to see:
- More emphasis on investing new and improved pedestrian spaces
- Reduction in traffic levels and reallocation of space for new uses
- Better monitoring and evaluation of the impacts economic improvement to build the business case for future improvements.
Did you know?
42 million people
Are estimated to use social media.
98%
of 16-24 year olds access the internet "on the go".
'Pop-up' retail grew 12.3%, employed 26,000 people and was worth £2.3billion in 2015.
What you can do
Make sure your voice is heard in decisions in your area, by joining or setting up a Living Streets Local Group.
Keep updated on all our campaigns and activities. Sign up to hear from us and join the walking nation.
Conduct a street review to evaluate the walking quality of your local streets and help build a case for improvements.
Funded By
We work with organisations, public sector bodies and companies to improve streets for walking.