02/08/2023
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Placemaking / Public Realm / Sustainability
The Waterloo Placemaking Strategy identified five key themes for potential interventions that could help celebrate and reinforce the area’s unique character. Responding to various challenges highlighted by both residents and workers, these themes of Identity, Activation, Public Realm, Connectivity and Brand are all viewed as central to the strategy’s delivery. This month’s Placemaking Spotlight combines almost all of the above by focusing on our recent public realm branding and wayfinding projects including new urban seating and colourful signage projects.
Waterloo Is:
Although the strategy largely focused on identifying the positive aspects of Waterloo’s unique place identity, it also uncovered a number of widely held negative perceptions of the area. These included the view that Waterloo is grey, busy and disjointed due partly to the number of busy wide roads that divide the area and interrupt wayfaring. Though not the view of most Waterloo locals that know the area’s wide selection of hidden gems, our research found that visitors and students that enter the area onto Waterloo, Blackfriars or Kennington Road may be less included to explore the area due to these negative perceptions.
Waterloo Could:
Our Placemaking Strategy, therefore, recommended a number of interventions especially targeting brightening up the public realm with our vibrant new brand colour pallet whilst also helping to improve wayfinding and place activation. Pinpointing specific areas of opportunity such as the station exit onto Waterloo Road or the junction outside Lambeth North, WeAreWaterloo is working to bring colourful and playful branding as well as practical wayfinding to these locations and encourage those that visit them to explore the area more deeply.
Make It Happen:
A number of tangible interventions have been completed or are currently underway to help improve Waterloo’s Connectivity, Public Realm and Place Branding:
Read the full Waterloo Placemaking Strategy here or see our previous articles in the Placemaking Spotlights series here.
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