The opportunity

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games create new public realm infrastructure on a massive scale. The movement network for pedestrians and cyclists needs to be sufficient both during and after the Games, which means that it must connect effectively into the wider urban street grid, linking the Park with people and facilities in the surrounding area, including Stratford town centre and the Stratford City retail development.

The public realm infrastructure is required to:

– accommodate pedestrian, cycle and vehicle movements

– create convenient and safe connections

– provide places for leisure and recreation

– ensure that commercial activity is located on and connected by an efficient movement network.

Our contribution

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) commissioned Space Syntax to undertake a Spatial Accessibility analysis of the Olympic Park in its Transformation Phase, which covers the two years following the end of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (2012-2014) before the Legacy Phase proper (2014 onwards). As Space Syntax’s work has revealed, the Spatial Accessibility of a movement network has a significant impact on pedestrian movement patterns and, as a consequence, on the social, economic and environmental performance of the wider area.

The outcome

The spatial models, which took into account locations of transport nodes as movement attractors, revealed how well the proposed designs for the Transformation Phase integrated withint the wider context. The analysis also highlighted potential locations for attractions and events within the Olympic Park.

Space Syntax’s analysis and recommendations were communicated with the ODA and incorporated within the revised public realm design proposals.

See also:

Stratford City Masterplan

London Olympic Park – Legacy Phase