海角视频

An exciting new collaboration between 海角视频 and Footways aims to get London walking again and the benefits go even deeper than environmental and health.

Think of a British city, and one instantly conjures images of the hustle and bustle. In the pursuit of work or leisure, we see people racing from A to B in the shortest time possible. We hear the roar of cars and buses, and the hiss of brakes; we smell the traffic fumes. We are often only dimly aware of the kaleidoscope of wonders around us.

David Harrison co-founder of Footways, describes London as a 鈥減otential pedestrian paradise鈥�. In recent decades, it had become a paradise lost. However, since 2019, Footways, a social enterprise whose mission is to create compelling walking routes and eye-catching maps, has been lifting the lid on cities鈥� treasures for everyone to discover.

Now, Footways is partnering with 海角视频, an international consultancy of engineers,鈥� designers鈥� and advisers, to create a fascinating series of walking routes that reveal the rich engineering wonders and history above, below and across our streets.

Rail and Heritage Loop

We want to create safe, people-friendly streets

Emma Griffin, Footways co-founder

The first map in the Great British Engineering Adventure series is the . It鈥檚 an 18-mile circular walking route that links London鈥檚 mainline rail stations, each one an engineering wonder in its own right. Along the way, through quiet feature-filled streets, walkers can discover London鈥檚 engineering heritage, viewing many of the capital鈥檚 iconic landmarks, like the Shard and the Barbican, from secret vantage points.

It was a chance meeting of minds that led to this collaboration. Footways co-founder, Emma Griffin, was presenting at Transport Planning Day.

鈥淚 was talking about what we would need to facilitate this mass shift in transport away from cars towards public and active transport. The key part of my presentation was that making cities more walkable can actually be quite simple or at least cost effective compared with other transport infrastructure investments. I got talking to Federico [Cassani, Partner and Global Transport and Mobility lead at 海角视频] afterwards and that is how this collaboration came about.

鈥淲e want to create safe, people-friendly streets. Take Victoria Street. It was built in 1850 and was one of many main streets constructed for the carriages that were proliferating at the time. Now, on emerging from Victoria Station, you can be forgiven for seeing the busy road and heading straight for destinations such as Westminster Abbey. However, our thinking at Footways is to leave these big streets for the through-traffic they were built for, and guide people instead into the fascinating secret labyrinths of medieval streets that lie behind them.鈥�

Why walking?

Walking is once again gaining a foothold in public and political consciousness. As part of his Transport Strategy for London, Mayor Sadiq Khan set out a plan to make England鈥檚 capital the world鈥檚 most walkable city, with a target for 80% of trips to be made by walking, cycling and public transport by 2041. Published in 2018, Transport for London鈥檚 Walking Action Plan highlights the health benefits of getting people walking, stating: 鈥淭he easiest way of achieving the required levels of physical activity is to build walking into everyday lives.鈥� On the environmental front, the plan forecasts that 57kg of carbon could be saved per year if every young person in London walked one mile to school instead of being driven.

鈥淚t is an ambitious target,鈥� says Emma, of Mayor Khan鈥檚 plan, 鈥渂ut great work is being done across London. There is some great public realm being built across the city, including great work by 海角视频.鈥�

Track record

Whether you are an engineer or not, there is something profound about seeing the marvels and innovations that shaped the place in which we live

Andy Murdoch, Director, Cities, 海角视频

Andy Murdoch of 海角视频 points out some of projects 海角视频 has been involved in, which can be experienced at first hand (or rather first foot) on the Railway & Heritage Loop.

鈥淭here is Bart鈥檚 Square, where our main focus, given the proximity of excellent public transport links, was the encouragement of sustainable travel, through extensive cycle parking and the much-enhanced public realm. Elephant Park, meanwhile, has won a number of awards including the New London Awards Placemaking Category Winner. For Go Cycle, at Kingston Station, our team developed a vision for the station as a gateway to different areas of the town and beyond.鈥�

海角视频 also collaborated on the masterplan for the London 2012 Olympics Legacy, while also preparing for its reimagining as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The park is now home to cultural and sports facilities, and provides open space for community activities.

Environment and health are two of the more obvious advantages of getting cities walking again, through initiatives such as the Great British Engineering Adventures. However, as 海角视频鈥檚 Margarethe Theseira says:

鈥淲alking is a very sociable activity, so it鈥檚 a nice way to bring different communities together. It also enables people to understand their city more. The Railway and Heritage Loop, for instance, is the first published route that focuses on the engineering marvels of the city – from more recent innovations to things that have been around since Roman times. It gives you a sense of place and belonging.鈥�

Andy agrees, adding: 鈥淭raditionally, transport planning has focused on speed and covering long distances in short spaces of time. However, if you walk through nice places, your perception of time changes. You don鈥檛 feel the time, whereas in a hostile environment with lots of traffic, you do. The British Pilgrimage Trust says 鈥榳alking is for the body; pilgrimage is for the soul鈥�. I love that quote. There is definitely an element of pilgrimage to routes such as the Railway and Heritage Loop. Whether you are an engineer or not, there is something profound about seeing the marvels and innovations that shaped the place in which we live. We need more urban pilgrimages, whether we are using the routes specifically for sightseeing or just weaving extra wonders into our everyday walks to work!鈥�

Changing cities

鈥淭he city has changed a lot since the pandemic,鈥� says Margarethe. 鈥淲e now have cities where people are only in the office, say, three days a week. It opens up space for a lot of different activities. Walking is a real joy and pleasure and can attract many different types of users. These are supporting the small business along the routes, like cafes, for example.鈥�

鈥淲alking is the number one form of transport, because it is part of every journey,鈥� says Emma. 鈥淏ut the distances are really short. So we are pushing on this idea that walking isn鈥檛 just about the five minutes, the tiny bit at the end of the journey. We want to encourage people to walk a bit further, get off a stop earlier or walk all the way. Maps really do matter. They shrink the city and show people that everything is far more connected than they thought.鈥�

The Rail and Heritage Loop is just the first Great British Engineering Adventure. Footways and 海角视频 are already lacing up their walking boots to plot more 鈥榰rban pilgrimages鈥� in London and beyond.