London Sport has commissioned not-for-profit, Future of London, to deliver a new programme of work focused on strengthening the understanding, partnerships and strategic action around Active Design in London.
The commission will support London Sport to better understand the challenges and opportunities linked to embedding physical activity into the built environment, helping shape future work connected to Active Environments across the capital.
Active Design focuses on how buildings, streets, neighbourhoods and public spaces can be planned and designed to encourage people to move more in everyday life – for example, creating places that better support walking, wheeling, cycling, recreation and access to activity.
As London continues to experience significant housing growth, regeneration and investment in public realm infrastructure, there is a growing opportunity to ensure physical activity is considered more consistently within planning and development decisions.
Through this commission, Future of London will work with London Sport to:
- Identify the key barriers to implementing Active Design principles across London.
- Map the stakeholders, networks and organisations involved in this agenda.
- Identify where London Sport can have the greatest influence and impact.
- Support the development of recommendations and future priorities.
- Build organisational knowledge and capability around Active Design and the wider built environment sector.
The outputs from the commission will help shape several planned workstreams within London Sport’s Active Environments work as part of our strategy, supporting the development of future action plans, partnership activity and wider systems-based approaches to tackling inactivity. As well as this, it will support:
- The work of London Sport’s new Active Environments Network.
- Systems leadership workshops focused on shared priorities and action planning.
- The development of test-and-learn pilots.
- The creation of an Active Environments Advisory Board.
Future of London was appointed following a competitive tender process and brings significant expertise in urban policy, regeneration and cross-sector collaboration. Their experience working across London’s built environment sector will support London Sport to better understand where it can add value, build partnerships and contribute to long-term systemic change.
The partnership reflects London Sport’s commitment to exploring how London’s environments and public spaces can better support healthier, more active lives, particularly for communities currently least likely to be physically active.
Nicola Mathers, Chief Executive of Future of London said:
“We’re delighted to be partnering with London Sport on this programme. As London continues to grow, there’s a real opportunity to ensure places support healthier, more active lives. By combining our strengths in cross-sector collaborative working and skills development, with a systems thinking approach, we’ll bring partners together to help London Sport identify practical ways to embed Active Design more consistently and equitably across the capital”.
Chris Donkin, Strategic Lead for Active Environments at London Sport said:
“We know pressures around cost, space and access are making it harder for many people to be active. That means we need to think differently about how the city itself can better support movement in everyday life.
This work with Future of London is an important opportunity for us to better understand where the biggest challenges and opportunities sit, and how we can work with partners across the built environment sector to help embed Active Design more consistently across the capital”.
ENDS
