London’s Oxford Street Opens Its First Traffic-Free Phase

In 2016, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan first expressed the intention to pedestrianize Oxford Street, located in the City of Westminster in central London. The original plan was to complete the project in 2020, but after two public consultations, the project was blocked in 2018. Resumed in 2024, it was followed by two public consultations that showed majority support among respondents. Final approval was granted in February 2026, and on Monday, October 26, almost a kilometer, from Orchard Street to Great Portland Street, became traffic-free. This milestone marks the first phase of the program: the section is now closed to private motorized vehicles, buses, taxis and private hire vehicles, cycles, scooters and pedicabs.

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The project is led by landscape and urban design practice East, based in East London. The team of subconsultants includes Gehl, the global urban strategy and design consultancy; research and urban design practice Publica; landscape architects J&L Gibbons; sustainability and low-energy building consultants Etude; and transport consultants NRP. Working in parallel with East, architecture practice Hawkins\Brown is developing a long-term design vision for the entire project, extending from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road. To oversee the project, the Mayor created the Oxford Street Development Corporation (OSDC), a Mayoral Development Corporation with the ability to take over planning powers from Westminster City Council.

This urban transformation is the latest chapter in a long history of change on one of London's busiest and most famous streets. The East team has drawn on descriptions of the street by Henry James and Virginia Woolf, which capture its spectacle and historic image. The team's objective is to give Oxford Street "a distinct character and a richer, more varied life." The street's wide variety of shops will be accompanied by new workplaces, leisure facilities, and cultural and hospitality destinations. During this transition period, works will remove road markings and add new seating, planting and signage. A textured stone surfacing will guide movement down the street, while larger pavers will mark north-south street crossings.

Street furniture is a key part of the transition phase, combining timber and steel benches in areas where they do not obstruct circulation. Seating placed at regular intervals aims to facilitate not only sitting but also meeting, eating and resting. Timber seats and tables are located in areas marked by distinct surface textures that indicate stopping points. During the transition period, East will test furniture configurations to ensure they are usable, welcoming and suitable. The project's landscape design includes tree planting intended to mitigate the urban heat island effect, capture carbon, intercept rainwater and increase biodiversity. Trees will be grown in large pots until they are ready to be lowered into the ground permanently. Later phases will include two new public squares marked with a new surface dressing, one close to Holles Street and the other close to Duke Street.

The transition phase serves as a trial period for the project. The OSDC and East will assess real-time insights into how the space is used and collect feedback from residents, accessibility groups, businesses, workers, transport partners and other Londoners to inform later phases. Sensors built into the furniture will monitor the flow of people and duration of use, and this data will inform the design of the permanent scheme. Public use of the traffic-free section will provide information on current needs to guide the design of public spaces. Construction of the permanent scheme for the section between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street is expected to begin later in 2027, with completion anticipated in 2028.

In other news about public space design, Stefano Boeri Architetti was recently selected to transform a former locomotive factory into a new green neighborhood in Tbilisi, Georgia. The preliminary design integrates the industrial heritage with contemporary design, public spaces and community recreation hubs. Portuguese architecture and urbanism practice OODA has released new images of an urban design project in Prague, Czech Republic. The design transforms an existing building block into a permeable site with municipal social housing, commercial units and a landscaped central plaza.