Liverpool’s visionary public realm strategy

As one of the UK’s leading metropolitan centres, Liverpool is renowned for its iconic maritime waterfront. Despite recently losing its United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage status, the vibrant mixed-use district surrounding the Royal Albert Dock and its historic mercantile buildings remains a major public attraction, drawing millions of visitors each year and serving as a symbol of the city’s enduring appeal. 

Yet beyond the celebrated waterfront, many parts of the city remain overlooked. Ranked as the third most deprived local authority in the UK, Liverpool faces significant challenges, including unequal access to green infrastructure and disparities in the quality and availability of public spaces—particularly in the city’s central and northern regions. The COVID-19 pandemic, has further emphasised the value of our outdoor environments and the need to strengthen connections to public spaces at both regional and local level.  

In light of these challenges, Joanne Anderson—who made history as the first Black woman to be directly elected as a mayor in the UK—served as Liverpool’s mayor from 2021 to 2023, placing social value at the forefront of her campaign. Through a progressive community-first approach, Anderson introduced a ‘triple lock manifesto’ centred on the key themes of people, planet and equality, ensuring every council decision was rigorously evaluated for its social impact, environmental sustainability and inclusivity. These principles were instrumental in shaping Liverpool’s ambitious public realm strategy, supported by £500 million of government funding for projects across the city with a strong emphasis on improving walking and cycling infrastructure. The strategy forms part of a comprehensive Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) designed to support Liverpool’s wider local plan, which is currently in consultation and set for adoption in 2026.

The strategy focuses on safeguarding and improving existing streets and open spaces while ensuring high-quality public realm is delivered through new developments, regeneration projects and street renewal schemes across the city. Central to its vision is promoting a collaborative approach to public space design, focusing on early and sustained engagement between a diverse range of stakeholders and internal council departments. The SPD has been developed for accessible use, establishing clear policies, best practice checklists and detailed guidance for evaluating public realm proposals. It also aims to provide developers with clarity on design standards, quality expectations and how community infrastructure levy (CIL) and other developer contributions will be utilised to achieve the strategy’s goals.

LDA Design, a London-based architecture and urbanism practice, was appointed as the lead designer for Liverpool’s new public realm strategy. The project began in December 2019, with Liverpool City Council hosting a series of roundtable discussions and stakeholder workshops to establish the SPD’s vision and guiding principles. The conversations were anchored by four core themes: movement and environment; buildings and placemaking; wellbeing and community; and culture and tourism.

Over two days, 112 participants—including local community representatives, statutory bodies and interested parties—contributed to refining the SPD’s vision, principles and technical considerations. Key feedback highlighted Liverpool's strong sense of community pride, as well as the inequalities between the more affluent south and deprived areas in the north and east. It also revealed car dominance due to poor transport alternatives, limited walking and cycling connectivity, and the need for inclusive public spaces that cater to all demographics.

A draft SPD was subsequently released for public consultation, with a six-week feedback period starting in April 2022. Two engagement sessions gathered input from 33 attendees, including residents, businesses and built environment professionals, who reviewed and discussed the document's content and with feedback incorporated into the final version. The SPD became operational in December 2022. 

The design toolkit is a key component of the SPD, providing a framework for planners to assess design quality in the public realm and supporting designers in developing proposals. It is organised into four main criteria: role, layout, appearance and delivery considerations. These are varyingly applied to three interlinked typologies: corridors (roads and streets), squares or civic spaces and green spaces or parks.

One of the more ambitious proposals to improve the current city network is the introduction of the ‘superblock’ model, which draws inspiration from Barcelona. Designed to reduce vehicular movement and promote sustainable mobility, superblocks will reorganise Liverpool’s neighbourhoods by circumventing through-traffic to strategic edges while redesigning internal streets for local vehicle access and segregated cycling and pedestrian movement.

The toolkit also highlights opportunities for enhanced strategic spaces and civic squares, particularly around Liverpool’s key visual assets, such as the Mersey River. Suggested improvements include the use of high-quality materials, public art and moveable furniture to support seasonal programming and flexible use. The SPD also calls for the integration of green infrastructure to enhance public squares in the city, which can reduce the heat island effect in summer, manage stormwater runoff and increase biodiversity. 

Greater consideration of the city’s green spaces will come as a welcome move to many residents living in deprived areas with limited access to quality green amenities. The SPD highlights the need for informal and formal play areas in parks of all sizes, alongside facilities that support events such as festivals and markets to strengthen community ties. Active collaboration between authorities, designers and local communities is recommended as part of the delivery considerations as a way to ensure stewardship of local parks by the local community while also empowering them to champion the future of these spaces.

With over 40 public realm sites earmarked for transformation over the next 20 years, Liverpool is laying the foundation for a high-quality, sustainable and inclusive urban environment—one that reflects not only its status as a world-class city but also the needs, mobility, and well-being of its residents.