IN-PERSON Manchester Livable Cities
Abstract
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) has been widely implemented in the UK since Covid, as a route towards liveable urban environments and healthy transport system. After rapid expansion, LTN’s spatial intervention has raised concerns about urban justice, transport accessibility, and spatial inequality. With public controversies become increasingly polarized and councils become more cautious on LTNs, it is urgent to integrate the concept of inclusivity into the LTN design framework. This paper critically examines how different experts and stakeholders understand and interpret ‘inclusivity’ in the LTN implement process and their lived experience in LTNs. The in-depth semi-structured interviews invite residents, council officers, project managers, landscape architects, opponents, organization directors, urban science scholars and transport professionals. Through the discussion of LTN projects in London, Oxford, Bristol, Manchester and Exeter, as well as some global references, this research explores diversified narratives about the relationship between spatial interventions and residents’ behaviours. The analysis based on thematic coding of interview transcripts, focusing on the conflicting and consensus about disabled mobility, pedestrian network, public space usage, environment design, public health, projects’ failure and community participation. The conclusion of this paper sets the groundwork to describe and explain how the spatial interventions of LTN impact. The next step research will combine on-site observation to validate previous findings and establish a theoretical model. This work provides a worth referencing research structure for more neighbourhood regeneration, inclusive urban design and public realms analysis. The outcome will make a positive contribution to our understanding of urban space and practicing the inclusivity.
Jiefan Zhao is a doctoral researcher at the University of Bath, specialising in urban regeneration and inclusivity design. With an academic background in architecture and urban design, his research focuses on the social, spatial, and behavioural impacts of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) and related spatial interventions in the UK. His work integrates theoretical structure with mixed methods to examine how street design, mobility policy, and community experience interact in regeneration toward more liveable and inclusive urban environments.
Dr Robert Grover is an architect with design experience in a range of award winning practices, and senior lecturer at the University of Bath. His teaching and research looks at how designers frame sustainability and embed it within their practice in both professional and educational contexts. Robert also has interests in design theory, architectural typology, sustainable retrofit and sustainable cities and urbanism.;
Prof Stephen Emmitt as a design manager was responsible for introducing process innovations at the business and project level to improve efficiency and effectiveness. This practical experience underpins his research and teaching interests in collaborative working and improving the interface between the design and realisation phases. He was awarded his first chair in 2003 at the Technical University of Denmark (Hoffmann Professor of Innovation and Management in Building, 2003-2007) before moving back to the UK as Professor of Architectural Technology at Loughborough University and then to the University of Bath in May 2014. As Professor of Architectural Practice he is leading the new PhD by Practice, a part-time pathway for mid-career professionals to complete a practice-led PhD in their chosen field.
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Thursday 18th June, 2026