Creating Better Places: Cable Street School Street and Neighbourhood Improvements

Pax Associates for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets

 

The scheme at Cable Street in Shadwell needed to deliver exceptional landscaping that could improve the lives and health and wellbeing of the residents living nearby. There are many tangible benefits to planting in cities – including trees, shrubs, perennial, and bulbs – but growing conditions can be harsh. The design approach to the scheme at Cable street recognises that integrating planting within the streetscape can play a considerable role, both to how the environment functions and to people’s day to day experiences. The design considers people and biodiversity synonymously, for the benefit of both.

 

The planting for the scheme is based upon 4 distinct criteria. It offers groundcover throughout the year; integrates species with defined biodiversity benefits; focuses upon species which can tolerant both wet soils and equally dry conditions, and offers a striking and attractive range of textures, colours and scents with a strong sense of seasonality, one that encourages visual connection with the natural processes of the year.

 

Rain garden parklets have been provided to reduce localised flooding and redirect the rainwater into the parklets allowing some of the water to permeate where or near to where it falls.  Trees are also planted with the parklets provide stature to the streets, localised pollution mitigation and shade to lessen heat island effects.

 

The scheme at Cable Street significantly altered the quality of the environment to Cable Street. It shifts the emphasis away from highways and infrastructure to create healthy neighbourhoods for the residents. It doubles the amount of landscaping on the street through rain garden SuDS parklets, tree planting and wider landscape areas, offering pause stops for pedestrians and cyclists.