Author: Anupama Nallari and Sarah Sabry at the Urban Hub @ Save the Children International
The London borough of Lambeth is transforming kerbside space from car parking to vibrant, green, and inclusive public spaces. This strategy tackles spatial injustice, makes streets child-friendly, and drives climate resilience.
Lambeth is a vibrant and diverse borough in South London, home to around 300,000 residents. It is one of London’s most densely populated areas, with stark contrasts: while it boasts cultural and economic vitality, 39% of children live in poverty, and income inequality remains high. These realities make equity-focused urban planning essential.
This article draws on our interview with Rezina Chowdhury, a councillor in Lambeth at the time of the interview, and a passionate advocate for inclusive and equitable streets. She served for over 11 years as a Councillor in Lambeth. Councillors are elected representatives whose key responsibilities include policy making, representing residents, holding the civic administration to account and scrutinising council policies and decisions. Rezina grew up in Lambeth and still lives on the same road where she went to school.
“I’ve seen Lambeth change over the years. It used to feel greener, liveable and more spacious. I used to walk to school, but my daughter couldn’t do that because of more cars and unsafe roads. My passion comes from wanting to improve the public realm for everyone.” – Rezina Chowdhury
What is the Kerbside Strategy and why it matters
Kerbside refers to the space along roads where cars are usually parked. In Lambeth, 94% of kerbside space was used for car parking, even though only 35% of residents own a car. This imbalance inspired Lambeth’s Kerbside Strategy, which challenges car-dominance and reimagines the kerbside as a flexible, equitable, multi-functional spatial resource that supports climate goals, health outcomes, and social equity. The infographic below shows how data was used to support the Kerbside Strategy.
The strategy has 5 priorities:
- Enable Accessible and Active Travel: Clear pavements for people with mobility impairments and better walking and cycling infrastructure.
- Create Places for People: Social spaces with seating and planting for residents and small businesses.
- Increase Climate Resilience: Shade from trees, green spaces, and biodiversity to protect against flooding and heatwaves.
- Reduce Emissions and Traffic: Infrastructure and incentives for electric vehicles and shared cars.
- Support Community Life: Spaces for play, socialising, and cultural activities.
“This strategy is not just about design—it’s about justice. We’re reallocating space from cars to people.”– Rezina Chowdhury
Progress to date
Lambeth has made significant strides since launching the strategy in 2020, according to the Kerbside Strategy 2023-25 Progress Report. These include converting 10.2% of kerbside (64.5 km) for into safer, greener, and more sustainable spaces supporting active mobility, social life and healthy living. The infographic below highlights some of the key achievements.
Recent updates show 70% more kerbside is now more people-friendly, improving accessibility for children, caregivers, and people with disabilities.
Key drivers behind Lambeth’s success
Transforming kerbside space required more than good ideas—it needed strong leadership, resources, partnerships, and community engagement. Here’s what made it possible.
1. Pandemic as a catalyst
During the pandemic, deep inequalities in access to space became visible, with many people without gardens or private outdoor areas feeling trapped inside their homes. As restrictions eased, residents began using street space in new ways. To meet, sit, play and connect socially. Recognising that reclaiming street space could help address spatial inequalities and improve everyday life led to the kerbside strategy.
“Rebalancing our public realm serves everybody, all groups, like the elderly, children, caregivers, all benefit.” – Rezina Chowdhury
2. Political leadership, clear vision, and enabling policy environment
Previous leadership in Lambeth pioneered low-traffic neighbourhoods, laying the foundation for kerbside reforms.
“Claire Holland’s leadership on low-traffic neighbourhoods paved the way for bold kerbside reforms. I stand on her shoulders and have the support of other councillors.” – Councillor Rezina Chowdhury
Alignment among councillors, officers, and the Mayor’s office, as well as the presence of broader, progressive visions, plans, and policies, was key to driving success. For example, the Mayor’s priorities for clean air and related transport strategies were closely aligned with the Kerbside strategy and goals.
3. Building consensus
Not all residents were on board. Rezina Chowdhury emphasised that the kerbside strategy did not have unanimous support:
“There are some people who oppose everything, like massive SUV drivers, climate deniers, vaccine sceptics, people who don’t want change at all. For some people, equality feels like oppression.”
Despite this, consensus grew through a clear vision for healthier neighbourhoods, supportive policy, and visible, on-the-ground action.
Temporary initiatives such as play streets and summer streets played an important role. These closed streets to traffic for short periods, turning them into lively public spaces with activities such as face painting, children’s entertainment, small businesses, and shared spaces for food and music.
These experiences helped residents see the potential of car-free streets. By creating positive, shared moments, they made change feel more tangible and helped build wider support over time.
4. Strategic finance and resourcefulness
Boroughs face competing urgent needs, such as funding for housing and schools. Rezina said they strategised to leverage funds from multiple sources to implement the Kerbside Strategy. Funding came from:
- Council tax,
- Controlled Parking Zones with emissions-based parking charges,
- Transport for London grants, and
- Developer contributions.
Lambeth also leveraged the awards they received, like the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation Sustainability Awards, to attract attention and resources.
The Kennington Oval Reimagined project, a finalist for two awards, is a flagship trial scheme that uses kerbside space to create new public space. This scheme is centred on two primary schools and includes child-friendly infrastructure such as a play trail, table tennis tables, colourful painting, and more. Lambeth Council has an ambition of becoming ‘UNICEF UK Child Friendly’ community and aims to scale the success of Kennington Oval to other neighbourhoods.
Typical kerbside in Lambeth Source: Lambeth's Kerbside Strategy
5. Capacity building, expertise and measurable outcomes
Dedicated roles like Kerbside Strategy Programme Manager and external consultants provided technical expertise. Supporting the delivery of the Kerbside Strategy is Lambeth’s digitised traffic order platform. This tool helps measure kerbside use and manage it more effectively. Through a dashboard linked to the platform, the council can track changes over time and monitor progress toward the goal of achieving 25 per cent sustainable kerbside by 2030.
6. Many diverse partnerships
The Lambeth Climate Partnership brings together key stakeholders such as hospitals, universities, and businesses to work toward net-zero goals. This partnership was used to help advance the Kerbside Strategy. Civil society groups, including Mums for Lungs and organisations advocating for school streets and play streets, played an important role in generating demand from the ground up.
Private sector partnerships are also important. Working with dockless bike providers such as Lime helps encourage more sustainable ways of getting around. Developers are another key stakeholder group. They are engaged in planning and designing child-friendly and sustainable streets in front of major developments and in contributing funding through planning obligations.
Benefits for people
The Kerbside Strategy is a spatial justice intervention, improving lives across demographics:
- Children: Safer streets, informal play spaces, and cleaner air.
- Caregivers: Parklets for rest and socialising; safer crossings for school runs.
- Low-Income Residents: Affordable mobility options reduce reliance on costly car ownership.
- Elderly and Disabled Residents: Wider pavements, seating areas, and improved crossings.
- Everyone: Greener streets and reduced car dominance improve air quality and climate resilience.
Learnings from Lambeth
Lambeth’s kerbside strategy offers a blueprint for cities worldwide. By auditing kerbside space, embedding child-friendly principles in policy, and engaging communities through small but impactful interventions, cities can create streets that serve people.
- Start with a clear, shared vision and communicate it consistently to build understanding and support.
- Use temporary interventions, such as play streets and parklets, to test ideas and show people possibilities of change.
- Align political leadership, council officers, and community ambitions to maintain momentum.
- Invest in staff capacity, data, and digital tools to track progress and manage the kerbside effectively.
- Anticipate resistance and address concerns early, particularly around changes to car use.
- Keep equity at the centre by designing for all ages, abilities, and income groups.
- Prioritise ongoing communication and engagement to build trust and ensure long-term success
About the Authors
This article was written by Anupama Nallari and Sarah Sabry at the Urban Hub @ Save the Children International. Many thanks to Rezina Chowdhury for speaking with us and sharing valuable insights on Lambeth’s kerbside strategy. Thanks also to Tim Gill for reviewing an earlier version of this article and providing suggestions to strengthen it. This post is part of our European Child-friendly City Series. It shows how meaningful change toward more people-friendly cities can be driven at the borough or ward level, particularly in large cities with decentralised governance and policy frameworks.
The Child-friendly Cities in Europe blog series showcases ideas for action, innovation, programmes, policies and practices that make cities child-friendly. Read more of our blogs here.
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