How can we overcome barriers to delivering greener, healthier streets and public spaces across our cities?
Insights from Built Environment Professionals on the Barriers to Greener, Healthier Streets
We all have an idea of what makes a great street or public space—so what are the challenges that make achieving that ideal tricky in practice?
As Landscape Architects, Urban Designers, Planners, and Architects, we have a shared understanding of what makes a ‘good’ street or public space. Yet, when we look out at our cities, the reality often doesn’t match the vision. Why is that? And more importantly—what can we do about it?
This question has been at the heart of my PhD research, which I’ve pursued alongside my professional work in urban design over the past few years. I’ve spoken with over 100 built environment professionals, gaining insight into the real-world challenges of delivering greener, healthier, and more inviting public spaces. A huge thank you to everyone who has shared their experiences and candidly discussed the barriers they face.
Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing key findings from this research—exploring the biggest obstacles in creating better public spaces and, crucially, what we can do to overcome them. Through this Substack, I’ll offer bite-sized insights, practical takeaways, and opportunities for discussion with others in the sector.
In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you: What are the biggest roadblocks (no pun intended!) you face in delivering high-quality public spaces? And what needs to change to make it easier?
Jenny Elliott is an urban designer and chartered landscape architect with a unique blend of expertise in sustainable, collaborative design and visual communication. With a background in urban design and a PhD focused on human-centered systems thinking to address challenges in realising better public spaces in practice, Jenny has worked alongside built environment professionals to explore how cities can be transformed into greener, healthier spaces.
Her work combines spatial, collaborative and visual design and user research to create streets and public spaces that support both environmental sustainability and positive social experiences. Jenny’s experience spans co-design, placemaking, and green infrastructure, with a particular focus on practical, actionable solutions for delivering healthier urban environments. Her unique approach blends the technical with the creative, using illustrations, infographics, and visualisations to communicate complex urban design ideas to both professionals and the public.