Home Zones?an evolving approach to community streets

Abstract

In January 2002, the UK Department for Transport (DfT) announced the 61 schemes that had been successful in sharing a £30 million grant allocation to develop the Home Zone concept throughout England. Eight pilot schemes in England and one in Wales were announced in August 1999 (together with four in Scotland one year later) and the DfT decided that the concept should be extended. Many of the UK's existing residential areas were not designed for the level of traffic, and particularly parking, that now takes place. As a consequence the streets in front of houses have become extended car parks and are perceived as dangerous for children. This has resulted in a breakdown of local communities as families become isolated within their properties. Children particularly are denied the opportunity of playing and mixing with friends in areas that also include traffic. The aim of the Challenge Programme is to develop residential communities where the streets are shared equally between traffic and residents and introduce different uses within the streets—particularly play. An important aspect of the development of these streets is that they should be designed such that vehicle speeds are kept down to between 10 and 15 mph. The local communities should also be actively involved in their design and development. This paper reviews the progress of these schemes to date and examines the various techniques that have been developed to engage the community fully in the design process.