By John Challen

Integrating multiple groups of people, forms of transport and advanced technologies and innovations is no easy task for transport professionals. With the new Creating a public realm report for all, the aim was to strip back some of the complications, simplifying and revolutionising the approach by giving everyone a voice.

“One of the strong messages in the report is that you can’t take big steps forward without actually involving the people who are going to be affected by them,” says Professor Nick Tyler, chair of the report, who explains there needs to be a shift when looking at the ‘guidance’ that is offered in the workplace if we are going to create more active travel, increase sustainability in the industry and make transport accessible and inclusive.

“We are trying to move transport professionals away from the world where they may have been brought up in, which is where guidance dictates the rules. In that world, where it is stated that something should be x metres, it is made x metres. They have to make it x metres – it can’t deviate from that because if someone else complains, the transport engineer can point to the guidance and say that they were following it.

“I think lots of transport engineers and professionals have moved on from that kind of approach, which is obviously a good thing, [but] there's still an underlying sense where people would really like to go against the guidance, but that could cause problems. Their defence is the guidance, which makes them risk averse,” argues Tyler, a Professor of Civil Engineering at University College London (UCL).

Involving the right people early in the process

Instead of going against the guidance that has been written, the report encourages a different approach from the outset – one that involves people who are affected by any developments or projects, so that when an issue comes up, a justification can be made about why certain decisions were taken.

“The best way to do that is to engage with these groups really early in the process,” reasons Tyler. “The report states that you don’t wait until everything is designed and near the end to get feedback from, say a wheelchair user; you start with them and ask them for their thoughts before you do anything.

“We coined the term ‘co-cultivation' and that should be the single biggest message to bring out of the report,” he suggests. “The ‘co’ relates to doing things together, but ‘cultivation’ has a much deeper meaning. It relates to how you prepare the ground, then plant the seed, then nurture the plant, then harvest the fruit and then how you prepare the ground again, then plant the seed again, and so on.” 

The ability to create a cycle – and ultimately sustainability – should, ideally, bring further improvements and keep the focus on the most important elements. Otherwise, Tyler warns, the situation will continue to be problematic. “What will happen – and it has happened, lots of times, is that you try to get something right and it doesn't quite work the way you expect, so you want to change it. Then you run into a battle, because the people who thought it was a great idea to start with all think if you change anything, you're going to destroy [it].

“The point about co-cultivation is that this is an acknowledged ongoing process that starts before you ‘plant the seed’ and continues into the future, to the benefit of everyone,” Tyler concludes.

Antoneta Horbury, Director of Policy and Technical Affairs, CIHT, outlined her vision for the report in May 2024.

Newsletter image: e-bikes and e-scooters in Bath, Somerset; credit: Shutterstock.