Many years ago, before I was immersed in the world of autonomous vehicles and fibre connectivity, I was a civil engineering undergraduate student at Imperial College London. The last course I ever took was the infamous 3rd year design project. It was an intense, 5-week group project where student teams were put in a work-simulation environment, tasked with completing projects ranging from complicated engineering issues to snazzy urban design problems. My project consisted of designing a gas platform for the North Sea and included a rendered fly-through with the Batman theme song playing in the background as the sun rose above the horizon. Oh, the good old days…

f you told me at the time that I would be re-doing this project years later - I wouldn’t have believed it! But that is exactly what happened this past May. Responding to the kind invitation from the College, my DG Cities colleague Lola Fernandez-Redondo and I oversaw a group of students participating in this very same module. Their task was to consider how Thamesmead, an area in south east London, could be redeveloped into a private car-free, sustainable neighbourhood. Students were required to use new technologies as well as to follow a citizen-focused approach for space design. 

The outcome of the project is an innovative masterplan that will increase the number of residential units as well as jobs in the area. In order to meet the goal of reducing private vehicle journeys, the focus is placed on limiting the amount of travel required by people. Making jobs and services accessible within the mixed-use development allows for that. To ensure connections within Thamesmead, as well as linking the area to the rest of London, an extension to the TfL network has been designed, including DLR, a new tram network and riverboat services, all integrated with Crossrail.

Not only large scale options were considered, however. The team developed street-level solutions as well, such as foldable bike storage areas and various curbside management techniques to maximise space utilisation. 

It has been a pleasure to be part of this project and we very much hope that the students will have left with valuable take-aways from the experience. For me, it is essential to convey the type of world we are expected to live in so that engineers are prepared and will think about these ideas in their work as well. 

And back to the day job, this is exactly the type of work that we do here at DG Cities.  We are passionate about delivering join-up cities. And what do we mean by that? Well, we work to deliver truly integrated, sustainable, resilient and liveable places and communities.  In the world of urban innovation it can be easy to be seduced by tech but urban planning needs to consider not just new technology but also societal changes.

Are you planning a major urban innovation or development project?  We can help you future proof your development to ensure it seamlessly integrates into the community.  To find out more, drop us a line at [email protected].