A Strategy for the Heart of London → Publica

People standing on the steps of a monument at night.

The Heart of London spans the West End from Green Park to the borders of Covent Garden – a layered quarter defined by contrasting architectural styles, historic townscape views, a thriving creative culture, and an animated cluster of evening and night time activity. Its intricate street network serves as a critical route for vehicles, pedestrians and the public alike.

To strengthen and shape this character, Publica developed three ambitious strategies for the Heart of London Business Alliance (HoLBA): the Placeshaping Strategy (2019), he Arts Quarter Strategy (2021) and the Evening and Night Time Economy Strategy, Vision and Action Plan (2023). Together, they set out a multi-faceted vision for a high quality public realm amidst a period of significant area transformation.

Evening and Night Time Economy Strategy, Vision and Action Plan

The Evening and Night Time Economy strategy is a first-of-its-kind for the West End, providing an integrated, and deliverable plan for this iconic part of London between the hours of 6pm and 6am. It sets out how the area can reach its full potential as a more inclusive, safe, accessible, and dynamic place for those who work, visit, live, invest and run businesses here.

The Heart of London area is already renowned for its night time culture of theatres, music venues, restaurants and clubs. It is an economically vital part of the city, and despite covering just 6% of the wider West End footprint, it contributes £4.9 billion to the UK economy. The evening and night-time economy accounts for 20% of that figure, half of which is driven by the cultural sector alone.

A crowded pavement at night outside Leicester Square Station.

Pedestrians walking past brightly lit shop interiors and signs at night.

People walk up and down the stairs going into an underground station.

People sitting on a continuous bench around the fence of Leicester Square Gardens.

Two colourfully lit pedicabs in an open public space.

Publica’s Evening and Night Time Economy strategy, vision and action plan aims to highlight the value of the evening and night-time in the social, economic and cultural life of cities. It envisions a dynamic, inclusive, safe, and sought-after destination 24 hours a day; a community who embraces and celebrates the evening and night-time economy; and stakeholders who understand its value and actively strive for it to meet its full potential.

It is underpinned by a comprehensive evidence base: street-level land use mapping, opening hours analysis, and a photographic survey, alongside a review of policies and strategies, including recent GLA publications and international precedents.

Map of the Heart of London area with land uses colour-coded to show the mixed uses in the wider area.

Map of the Heart of London area with land uses colour-coded to show only the businesses that remain open on a Saturday from 6pm to 9pm.

Map of the Heart of London area with land uses colour-coded to show only the businesses that remain open on a Saturday from 9pm to 11pm.

Map of the Heart of London area with land uses colour-coded to show only the businesses that remain open on a Saturday from 11pm to 3am Sunday.

Land uses:
Mixed uses in the wider area

This vision outlines how this can be achieved through 5 key objectives:

Recognise the value of the ENTE, support collaborative working and evidence-led decision making
Make the area more welcoming, safe, attractive and dynamic, across 24 hours
Entice and serve more people with a diverse range of experiences and uses
Attract and develop a world-class workforce and businesses to foster innovation
Improve inclusivity and access to - and within – the area, its destinations and activities.

An action plan expands on the strategic objectives with a detailed list of actions, organised by objective, with a range of projects, policies and ideas that will contribute to their realisation. To shape the action plan, Publica led a diverse engagement process, drawing insights from virtual roundtables with stakeholders, a panel of international experts and a series of targeted industry meetings.

Less cars, more pedestrianised areas. Performances and events in the streets. More family-friendly activities. A safe environment for staff and patrons to get home. Better wayfinding. Late night supermarkets.

Residents, stakeholders and industry experts, Quotes from engagement sessions

The Placeshaping Strategy provides a unified framework for the public realm, grounded in detailed survey work of local conditions and close analysis of changes underway across the area, to guide further improvements to streets and spaces throughout the Heart of London.

The strategy establishes eight strategic principles for the public realm’s future: celebrating and enhancing spectacle; honouring the contrast between character areas; improving movement, connectivity and wayfinding; and providing a diverse mix of uses and public spaces. These principles are spatially defined within five geographical project “families”, each with a set of area-specific objectives.

Client: Heart of London Business Alliance
Collaborators: Futurecity, NRP

The Arts Quarter strategy promotes the City of Westminster’s plans for an inviting and original public realm, a series of cultural hubs across the borough and creative spaces to encourage the growth of cultural, community and commercial activity.

The strategy identifies scope for investors to harness London’s and the globe’s creative energy within a tight-knit district of often overlooked commercial and outdoor spaces. A ‘Gallery Without Walls’ approach will animate creative uses of the public realm and cultivate collaboration between the cultural and business sectors.

Publica’s research informed the uses and design considerations for the public realm through an analysis of the needs and aspirations of the on-site cultural partners and of the surrounding community and cultural sector. Through a series of recommended public realm proposals, cultural placemaking opportunities and an occupier curation strategy, the strategy illustrates how increased commercial and social value can be delivered for the benefit of everyone who lives, works or visits the West End.