High-quality public spaces drive economic growth, improve wellbeing and strengthen climate resilience. They attract investment, increase property values and deliver social benefits. Yet their full potential remains untapped. Preliminary research by the Catapult identified three main challenges for public realm schemes:
These barriers create investment uncertainty and hinder successful public realm development.
The Public Realm Innovation Lab bridges the gap between innovation and implementation, acting as an:
The Lab is a ‘do tank’, turning ideas into action. Using a test-and-learn approach, we run pilots with continuous feedback loops to turn theory into practice, generate real-world evidence and connect insights to broader systems – ensuring innovations are practical, scalable and deliver lasting impact.
Implement specific, purposeful innovations focused on a theme (e.g. health and wellbeing) to show how the strategic design, management and use of public spaces can deliver measurable outcomes.
Shape each theme around systemic, policy-linked opportunities, combining top-down and bottom-up perspectives to tackle complex public realm problems.
We know we can’t do this alone. Working with partners allows us to test and learn on local challenges – exploring how tackling local issues can help solve the national challenges.
Our test and learn approach allows organisations and end-users to trial innovative solutions in real-world settings. This enables stakeholders to explore, refine and validate new ideas before wider implementation, making sure they are practical and scalable.
Embed innovative SMEs within places to activate spaces, attract tenants and stimulate local activity, delivering value for developers and local authorities while giving SMEs pathways to grow and scale.
Develop solutions that address multiple needs across government, delivery teams and communities, combining strategic impact with practical implementation to deliver positive outcomes for people, planet and prosperity.
By combining on-the-ground experimentation with strategic alignment, the Lab creates the strongest pathway to grow innovative markets rooted in place.
Connected Places Catapult is partnering with the River Roding Health Corridor Consortium – including Arup, Be First, Care City, Makower Architects and NHS North East London.
The consortium has identified the River Roding as one of London’s most undervalued natural corridors, with significant potential to support community health, yet largely invisible and inaccessible to local residents. The consortium brings together expertise in NHS health data, spatial design, regeneration and community engagement, putting people at the heart of the project.
Building on their work, Connected Places Catapult has defined a focused innovation challenge to improve health and wellbeing in local public spaces:
Helping children and young people achieve a healthy weight by making public spaces more inclusive, inviting, and connected.
The next step is co-designing and piloting targeted interventions with communities and partners.
To support the development of the initiative, the Catapult has commissioned research to explore how innovation in urban real estate can enhance public spaces, focusing on areas including technology integration, flexible use models, inclusivity, and climate resilience. The aim is to inform strategies that address current urban challenges and improve social, environmental, and economic outcomes for all.
Pathways to an outcomes-based public realm
This report, developed by Connected Places Catapult and Dark Matter Labs, explores how to embed public space outcomes across every stage of the commercial real estate process. It highlights gaps in current practice and calls for new tools, models and partnerships to better value, fund and manage public space as essential urban infrastructure.
View the report online – Pathways to an outcomes-based public realm
Pathways to an Outcomes-based Public Realm
File type: pdf
File size: 29.39Mb
Public Realm Innovation Initiative – Market Research Summary
This research aims to identify market failures that act as a barrier to developing public realm spaces that drive health and wellbeing outcomes.
Research will inform the design and development of a value proposition, which will be used as an offer to the market.
Public Realm Innovation Initiative Market Research Summary
File type: pdf
File size: 26.59Mb
