High Streets for All

London has more than 600 high streets and 90% of Londoners live within 10 minutes of their high street. Even before the pandemic, some of our high streets faced several challenges including changes in consumer demands and work patterns and dwindling local authority resources which resulted in increased shop vacancies and impacts on attractiveness and investment. Lockdown has highlighted the need for local neighbourhoods with a diverse range of local businesses and services, as well as increased space for pedestrians. There is an opportunity for us to rethink the way we live and move around the city. The 15 minute city concept invites us to imagine thriving local areas with easily accessible jobs and services; better street space and active travel; and greener more resilient communities. Read more about the context for this mission.
 
Mission: “Thriving, inclusive and resilient high streets and town centres in every London borough with culture, diverse retail and jobs within walking distance of all Londoners.”
 
We’ll need to work together to:

• Short term – enhanced high streets that are greener and more accessible to cyclists, and to support local civic and cultural organisations
• Medium term -  reduce tax and financial burden on businesses already struggling to enable high streets and town centres to thrive
• Long term – in every London borough resident’s daily needs can be met within a short walk or cycle ride

Areas of focus might include:

• Road reallocations to support a shift to walking and cycling
• Piloting high street innovation zones including culture hubs and night-time enterprise zones

Is there anything critical to London’s recovery missing from this mission? What does this mean for you personally and your community?  What actions or interventions would have the most impact? How will we know that we’ve succeeded?  Who has a role to play to meet this challenge?