Old Street
London, United Kingdom
Contributed by Project for Public Spaces
Traffic was the only consideration when this road was improved, limiting its potential to become a great street.
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Why It Doesn't Work
The newly improved section of Old Street Road in Shoreditch really missed the mark. It undertook to make a horrible, by all accounts, one way eastbound road through an important and revitalizing neighborhood, and did merely a road improvement when it could have done a major community renewal project by creating a series of public spaces and development opportunities to draw people instead of just a road. Traffic could have been part of the solution, but it was the only consideration. A fifty year decision that truly limits the potential of a very important and interesting community is a sad commentary for a city that is beginning to focus attention more than ever on regeneration and public spaces.