Encompassing projects in London’s business districts as well as suburban town centres, the NLA Awards public spaces shortlist demonstrates the value of thoughtful placemaking across the capital.

The four schemes are creative responses to some of the key challenges driving public realm design. Mitigating the effects of climate change. Resiliently adapting to new patterns of work and play. And – vitally ‒ creating spaces that are attractive and inclusive for everyone.

Having begun life as a new business district and popular retail destination, Canary Wharf is now adapting to a changing world of work and leisure. Eden Dock ‒ an ambitious bid to counter both urban biodiversity loss and reduced human footfall ‒ is part of Canary Wharf’s wider evolution into a mixed-use neighbourhood.

Providing habitats for birds, fish, amphibians and invertebrates, the scheme is also very much a place for people. Featuring planting and hard landscaping to mitigate summer overheating, while offering sunny places to sit in winter, the space is an attractive year-round amenity for local residents, workers and visitors.

With the smallest resident population of any London local authority area, the City of London faces similar challenges. The intention of its Cool Streets and Greening Programme is to counteract the effects of climate change. However, the project is simultaneously about making the City a better place for people ‒ creating inviting spaces to stop, rest and enjoy.

Suburban town centres, too, are trying to maintain relevance and footfall in the face of radically changed shopping habits. In southeast London, Plumstead Good Growth creates safer and more welcoming pedestrian and cycle routes with the aim of attracting investment to the High Street. The series of small interventions – from new planting and play areas to improved wayfinding and lighting ‒ are designed to create a better sense of place. But, here again, mitigating the effects of climate change is also an important theme.

Child-Friendly Chingford is the only one of the four shortlisted projects that has yet to be built. With a focus on the needs of children, it has an underlying aim of encouraging people into Chingford’s town centres. Intended to create safe and inclusive spaces for people of all ages, it’s great to see that the programme has been co-designed with over 500 young people.

At NRP we believe that successful public spaces are ones that people are connected to – feeling a genuine sense of stewardship. At their best, community consultation and co-design are important ways of achieving that sense of belonging.

Looking at photographs and visualisations, it’s easy to assume that a public realm project is all about the landscape and architectural design. But underpinning many projects is a lot of unseen work.

As engineers, modellers, project managers and cost consultants, NRP’s team focuses on these less visible aspects of placemaking – including initial traffic and transport strategies as well as operational feasibility studies. Then, as the project develops, it’s exciting to work alongside carefully assembled design teams to bring the scheme to fruition.

We celebrate both the value that vibrant public spaces bring to people’s lives and the teams that bring these spaces to reality. It is, therefore, a real pleasure for NRP to sponsor this category of the NLA Awards 2025.