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The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Transport for London are taking the Healthy Streets Approach, to encourage more Londoners to walk, cycle and use public transport.

They aim to improve air quality, reduce congestion and help make London's diverse communities greener, healthier and more attractive places to live, work, play and do business.

Healthy Streets for London

Healthy Streets for London sets out how the Mayor and TfL will help Londoners to use their cars less and walk, cycle and use public transport more. It outlines some practical steps to achieve this, including:

  • improving local environments by providing more space for walking and cycling, and better public spaces where people can interact
  • prioritising better and more affordable public transport and safer and more appealing routes for walking and cycling
  • planning new developments so people can walk or cycle to local shops, schools and workplaces, and have good public transport links for longer journeys

Healthy Streets in the Mayor's Transport Strategy

Healthy Streets is the framework of the Mayor's Transport Strategy, putting human health and experience at the heart of planning the city.

The key chapters - Healthy Streets and healthy people; A good public transport experience and; New homes and jobs, all apply the Healthy Streets Approach to deliver the aims of the strategy, including:

  • 80 per cent of all trips in London to be made by walking, cycling and public transport by 2041
  • all Londoners to do at least 20 minutes of active travel each day by 2041

Healthy Streets Toolkit

The Healthy Streets Toolkit includes resources to help you put the Healthy Streets Approach into practice. They cover the whole process from initial assessment, through implementation to evaluation.

Healthy Streets for boroughs

The vast majority of streets in Greater London are managed by boroughs. Boroughs can deliver the Healthy Streets Approach in ways that suits the needs and aspirations of their residents and the unique character of their streets through public realm improvements and local policies that promote sustainable travel and deduce the dominance of motorised traffic.

Adopting the Healthy Streets Approach is also a requirement of Local Implementation Plan funding and will help boroughs to fulfil their public health duties.

The benefits of adopting Healthy Streets

Research shows that if every Londoner walked or cycled for 20 minutes a day, it would save the NHS £1.7bn in treatment costs over the next 25 years. This includes:

  • 85,000 fewer people being treated for hip fractures
  • 19,200 fewer people suffering from dementia
  • and an estimated 18,800 fewer Londoners suffering from depression.

Pedestrians crossing

Besides the health benefits, this new approach can:

  • reduce air and noise pollution
  • improve mental health
  • help combat social isolation
  • bring economic benefits to local high streets across the capital

It will also focus on minimising road dangers, which will help to address the safety fears people have about cycling and walking more.

Read more on Healthy Streets for London

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