Waltham Forest / Walthamstow Central
VIBRANT AND DIVERSE — Sustainable Surburbanism in the 21st century
Walthamstow is a vibrant, suburban centre that boasts a diverse community and historic housing stock, proving increasingly popular with commuters wishing to take advantage of excellent public transport accessibility.
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Walthamstow Central Today
In many ways Walthamstow is typical of London’s suburbs: its centre is moderately dense (almost exactly the London average at 93 households per hectare); is focused on a thriving local market (over three times the number of local shops and services than the London average); and is supported by several surrounding neighbourhoods of much lower density. Walthamstow has about the same number of local jobs as the London average. It has roughly the average numbers of people per household (2.33) and working adults per household (1.15) as the London average.
Despite these similarities, the area has several features that make it unique. The first is the high number of local shops and services, as mentioned above (three times the London average). Walthamstow Market has been active since 1885, is reputed to be a mile long and is active six days a week offering a variety of household goods, linens, foods and services.
The second feature is the area’s remarkable public transport connectivity. Walthamstow Central is connected to several transport systems (via overland and underground train stations and a large bus terminus), reflected in the elevated proportion of people who use public transport to commute to work (22 per cent greater than the London average.) This connectivity makes the area more attractive to workers in central London as it results in shorter commute times than average (nearly 23 per cent less). Its residents are also less well off than the average London suburb, by approximately 22 per cent.
What does this mean in terms of vehicle kilometres travelled and carbon emissions? Walthamstow Central is much better than the average London suburb when it comes to transport-related carbon emissions. Residents in Walthamstow Central own 30 per cent fewer vehicles than average and drive them nearly 80 per cent less. The fact that more goods and services are locally available reduces the need for additional car trips producing further savings in emissions and petrol. This contributes to the area’s low carbon emissions per household: approximately 80 per cent less than the London average. This saving is due to the area’s better than average transport connectivity and lower than average commute distances and incomes.
Walthamstow Central Tomorrow
The combination of high accessibility, good local services and affordability makes Walthamstow Central an attractive London area for development. However, this development pressure has brought its own challenges including: the decision to hold the 2012 Olympics in the neighbouring borough; regional competition from new town centres nearby such as Stratford City; and a changing national policy which encourages greater mixed uses and higher density residential development in suburban town centres.
In 2007–2008, The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment worked with the London Borough of Waltham Forest, within which Walthamstow is found, to create a sustainable Masterplan for the future of Walthamstow Central. Amongst other principles of sustainable design and urbanism, the concept of location efficiency was central to this Masterplan. It is, therefore, a good case study that examines how location efficiency can be used in the planning and design process to help create efficient, valuable and sustainable neighbourhoods.
The US-based Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) developed the first phase of the location-efficiency model for The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment and applied its lessons to the Walthamstow Central Masterplan.
CNT’s model found that the most important factors for reducing car ownership, overall driving and carbon emissions were:
- high residential density
- high public transport accessibility
- more local jobs (and thus lower commute distances)
- fewer workers per household and less income to spend on transport-related expenses.
A variety of secondary factors were also found to be important including:
- a highly walkable urban environment and
- many local shops and services.
The principles of the Walthamstow Central Masterplan were strongly influenced by this model, helping the Masterplan to achieve its goal of creating a beautiful, timeless and sustainable human environment.
Walthamstow Town Centre Improvement
The principles of the final Masterplan are an excellent example of how location efficiency can be used to improve design and planning. The principles described below are specific, in this case, to Walthamstow but are also generally applicable:
- Create an interconnected and fine-grained network of streets and high-quality public spaces, encouraging people to walk and to use public transport whilst still accommodating vehicles.
- Provide higher density developments around public transport hubs and close to local mixed uses and services. Accommodate these higher densities in the form of 4- to 7-storey mansion blocks which harmonise with their environment, creating a dense but human scale. This adds high density without the need for isolated tower blocks that break with the character of the neighbourhood, overwhelm their surroundings and age poorly.
- Offer a mixture of different housing types, from studios and one-bedroom flats to larger units that accommodate families.
- Encourage mixed uses and mixed incomes by allowing for the growth of a variety of rental units, office spaces, and local opportunities. Mixing uses and property types provides greater opportunity to create a variety of local jobs and services, encouraging more local work and minimizing the need for driving and commuting.
- Take advantage of the natural focal points in the neighbourhood to create concentrated “pearls” of retail activity. This would help to maximise the value of the public realm, enhance the profitability and prestige of key locations, and support a larger, more diffuse network of activity for a variety of market categories and service types.
Taken as a whole, these principles will help create an improved town centre, alive with new and diverse activities and residents, whilst at the same time reducing carbon emissions and, at the local level, impact. Walthamstow Central is the first major case study in the UK to translate location efficiency principles into sustainable design terms, offering lessons for a variety of other suburban town centres.
Walthamstow, view from Selborne Road (East). Existing view, with illustration of urban development proposal.
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Waltham Forest / Walthamstow Central
| Area * | London Average | +/- Percent difference from average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Household density The number of households per hectare of residential land |
93.55 | 92.41 | 1% |
| Local jobs The number of jobs per hectare of commercial, retail and industrial land. |
13.57 | 12.56 | 8% |
| Public transport The percentage of working population residing in that area which commutes to work using the train, bus, tram, tube or by cycling or walking |
71.30 | 58.47 | 22% |
| Walkability A space syntax measure of urban design accessibility related to street layout and neighbourhood structure |
180.27 | 199.91 | -10% |
| Income The average amount, in pounds, a single household makes in that area per week |
570.00 | 734.44 | -22% |
| Household size The number of adults per household, including families, sharers, and combined facilities |
2.33 | 2.41 | -3% |
| Workers per household The average number of working adults per household |
1.16 | 1.19 | -3% |
| Average commute distance The average distance, in kilometres, which that household commutes to work |
8.93 | 11.67 | -23% |
| Local services An index number relating to the number of commercial and retail facilities per hectare within that area |
5.60 | 1.82 | 207% |
| Vehicles per household The average number of vehicles per household |
0.60 | 0.88 | -32% |
| Vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) The average amount of vehicle kilometres driven, per day, per household in that area |
2.00 | 10.13 | -80% |
| CO2 emissions The annual estimated amount of CO2 produced by transport for each household in that area in metric tonnes. Measures only CO2 related to driving and travel, not home use, energy generation or any other source |
131.51 | 660.24 | -80% |
* ‘Area’ represents the geographical area defined as the Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA)
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