Grey to Green Street Design

Key Learnings

• Information resolved oppositions: As the project aimed to narrow parts of the “redundant” highway, local businesses were concerned about being less accessible for customers. Modelling the new road arrangements as well as demonstrating the added benefits for the businesses enabled to resolve this initial opposition and to win the argument.
• Flexibility for successful implementation: Despite initial site investigations, surprises during the construction phase required flexibility from the design team. It was necessary to incorporate changes in the implementation due to, for example, a very high voltage cable.
• Active and committed client involvement from feasibility to post-completion: The project team engaged the city at key consultation stages, from securing funding to submitting claims and achieving targeted outcomes. After project completion, the city maintained ongoing engagement with stakeholders and organisations interested in learning more about the grey-to-green initiative.

Summary

As part of the Ten Point Plan, the Sheffield Grey to Green project demonstrates how state-of-the-art landscape architecture can successfully contribute to climate change adaptation for increasing resilience toward flooding in urban areas and providing Sheffield’s citizens with multiple benefits. The sustainable urban drainage system with drainage ditches and rain gardens ensures successful water management and flood protection. Stakeholder engagement and transparent communication support implementation and reduce potential conflicts. The thought-through design also reduces long-term maintenance costs for the city council.

Contact

cityregenerationsheffield [dot] gov [dot] uk (cityregeneration[at]sheffield[dot]gov[dot]uk)