Waltham Forest

Since 2014, our team has collaborated with LBWF Highways to deliver award-winning active travel infrastructure and transform some of Waltham Forest’s most traffic-congested streets. Waltham Forest is a forward-thinking and proactive borough that places environmental sustainability and active travel at the core of its initiatives. A series of integrated public realm schemes have focused on reimagining streets—creating space for walking and cycling while accommodating multiple species and celebrating the diversity of public life.

Davies Lane, school gateway, 2022

Lea Bridge Road quiet way, 2017, photo by Alex Christie

Perth Road Gardens, 2024

Pretoria Avenue, 2016, photo by Alex Christie

The borough’s strategy aims to create more climate-resilient environments by introducing impactful green and blue infrastructure that is accessible to all. By actively engaging residents and businesses in the design process, these strategies address localised air pollution, flooding, and the heat island effect while enhancing biodiversity, wildlife habitats, and carbon storage. Community stewardship and care are integral to these efforts.

Our projects are responsive to the social and cultural conditions of each place, realised through diverse collaborations with local households, community groups, council teams, and schools. This diversity of collaborations ensures that projects are tailored to the unique needs of the community but also fosters a sense of inclusivity and belonging among all stakeholders.

what if: projects has delivered a broad range of projects in collaboration with Waltham Forest’s in-house teams, including Highways, Trees, Parks and Open Spaces, Regeneration, and Street Lighting. These projects and programs align with the borough’s strategic objectives and can be categorised as follows:

Mini-Holland ‘Village’ schemes
Mini-Holland ‘Route’ schemes
Area-based programs
Active travel buildings
EV infrastructure
Wayfinding and placemaking
Public realm improvements
Local neighbourhood schemes
Strategic street improvements

The engagement of schools in the design, development, and delivery of public realm and greening schemes has significantly informed a series of projects in Waltham Forest. By prioritising the needs of multiple species, we have developed processes that expand children’s understanding of their interconnectedness with the surrounding environment. Through playful and interactive methods, we highlight the links between the biodiversity crisis and the spaces right outside their schools. In doing so, we aim to instill a sense of agency, connectedness, and responsibility towards the environment we share with the many living species that sustain us.