Lessons from Low Traffic Neighbourhoods will drive better public engagement, study finds

Lessons from Low Traffic Neighbourhoods have informed a new toolkit to improve engagement with the public on challenging local street issues.

Produced by academics at UWE Bristol as part of the TRUUD (Tackling Root causes upstream of Unhealthy Urban Development) research programme, the toolkit contains evidence and tips to help local government officers frame discussions around improving streets with communities.

Building on learning from engagement best practice, Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) and testing of materials based on data and lived experience, the toolkit offers ideas and guidance for health informed, more deliberative engagement. Included is a new short film focused on family experiences and anxieties on the journey to school which can be used as a prompt for discussions around the need for change to enhance health and wellbeing.

In reviewing existing literature on the introduction and impact of LTNs, the academics found that there is not a single database of schemes for the UK and highlight how a lack of consistent information and sharing of lessons learnt can impede understanding about how best to introduce LTNs. They recommend that engagement could be improved by better inclusion of public health evidence and drawing on and using local knowledge without an over-reliance on digital mapping.

Dr Jo White, Senior Research Fellow at UWE Bristol, said: “Our research and testing shows that visually-engaging materials which include health data and real-life experiences work well with the public. Using them as part of early, exploratory discussions can aid a strategic, staged approach to introducing change and designing new interventions with communities.

“The toolkit shares framing theory and creative approaches to aid the design of early engagement with the public. We hope it encourages local government officers tasked with introducing change to place public health data at the centre of debates around local street improvements.”

The toolkit can be accessed at: Toolkit Start | Health-informed public engagement Toolkit