London, Olympic Park – Legacy
Year
2009
London Borough of Tower Hamlets (LBTH) is one of the five Olympic Host Boroughs. The Olympic Games have been recognised as London’s “single most important regeneration project for the next 25 years” and are aimed at narrowing the deprivation gap between the Olympic Host Boroughs and the rest of London (GLA: Replacement London Plan, 2009).
The establishment of the Olympic Park Legacy Company and the development of Olympic Legacy Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) have been key factors in achieving this goal.
LBTH welcomed and supported the aims and opportunities of the Games and its legacy, yet had concerns over the plans for the Olympics and its legacy. These concerns were in particular related to the manner in which the development proposals connected to the wider street network.
Space Syntax was commissioned by LBTH to provide evidence to evaluate these concerns and advice on possible design solutions.
The Olympic Legacy design proposals were assessed using spatial modelling techniques. This work focused on issues of accessibility, connectivity and land use distribution since these elements have such a significant impact on social, economic and environmental performance.
Our previous work on town centre structures in central London had identified key relationships between patterns of spatial accessibility and the distribution of retail uses. This evidence was used to assess the Legacy scheme and evaluate the proposed connections between it and the surrounding areas.
Our study outcomes and design recommendations were communicated with LBTH and used as part of the Borough’s overall review of the Legacy proposals.
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