London - Strategic Design

The 'Compact City' Option

The aim of the Compact City option is to locate people as close as possible to where they work, shop, and carry out their personal business, and in areas where there is good accessibility by public transport. It is hoped that this will reduce travel distances and increase the proportion of trips made by public transport, cycling and walking.

Land use: The dwellings would be allocated within the existing urban/ suburban footprints of London and other areas in the rest of WSER that are likely to experience high employment growth. Minimum density requirements for development in all areas would be specified, but with much higher density targets around transport nodes and centres of employment. Also the green belt areas and open spaces without special protection for reasons of nature conservation or amenity value would be available for development. Priority would be given to such areas having potentially good public transport accessibility, a high employment to dwelling ratio, and local facilities. Areas of outstanding natural beauty, historic importance, steep gradients, or a flood risk that would make development of the site uneconomic are excluded.

Transport: The total equivalent transport investment from 2016 to 2031 for the ‘trend’ would be focussed on public transport improvements, combined with RUC.