Newcastle Upon Tyne, How has Sustainable mobility improved?

Sustainable Mobility in Newcastle Upon Tyne

The city centre of Newcastle has changed drastically over the past 50 years. Northumberland Street was previously a part of the main road that linked Edinburgh to London. Cars became the priority rather than pedestrians with busy streets, large multistorey car parks, and pedestrian access was taken away from ground level.

Northumberland Street however was pedestrianised in 1998 which encouraged walking through the city centre rather than driving. This followed a very successful scheme in Scandinavia that showed just how pedestrianisation can make for safer and busier streets that thrive. Streets like these encourage more optional activities and make required activities more enjoyable (Gehl, 1987).

Public transport has also improved drastically over these years with there now being 5 main types within Newcastle, allowing for greater choice and improved sustainable mobility within the city (Guerra, Ribeiro, Fernandez et al., 2016).

Northumberland Street has been so successful that it is now proposed to do the same to Blackett Street, another key route through the city. Further improvement works are also being carried out on Northumberland Street, and Greys Streets improvements have been completed. The work on Greys Street included widening the pavements, incorporating rain gardens and planting (Newcastle City Council, 2022). The overall theme of Newcastles work is to prioritise the pedestrian!

 A video providing further details is available at our Instagram page: @maurbandesign

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQ6lK6rDw4o/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

References:

Gehl, Jan. (2011) ‘Three types of outdoor activities’, The City Reader, pp.530-539.

Guerra, J. et al. (2016) ‘The adoption of strategies for sustainable cities: a comparative study between Newcastle and Florianópolis focused on urban mobility’, Journal of Cleaner Production, 113, pp.681-694.

Newcastle City Council (2022) Greener Grey Street Gets the Go Ahead. Available at: https://newcastle.gov.uk/citylife-news/greener-grey-street-gets-go-ahead (Accessed: 07/11/2025).

Images:

BBC. (2022) Newcastle City Council had wanted to pedestrianise Blackett Street as depicted in this artist’s impression. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-63238923 (Accessed: 07/11/2025).

Chronicle Live. (2024) How a Pedestrianised Blackett Street Could Look. Available at: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/blackett-street-newcastle-pedestrian-council-28707039 (Accessed: 07/11/2025).

Galal, L. (2023) ‘The Influence of Sustainable Urban mobility in the Urban Morphology of Copenhagen City’, MSA Engineering Journal, 2(1), pp.112-129. doi:10.21608/msaeng.2023.289097

Getty Images. (2020) Northumberland Street. Available at: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/photo/northumberland-street-newcastle-upon-tyne-royalty-free-image/1200393382 (Accessed: 07/11/2025).

Newcastle City Council. (2025) The Future of Northumberland Street Coming To Life. Available at: https://new.newcastle.gov.uk/news/2025/future-northumberland-street-coming-life (Accessed: 07/11/2025).

Northumberland Gazette. (2025) Latest designs for a regeneration of Northumberland Street in Newcastle. Available at: https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/politics/council/new-images-reveal-regeneration-vision-for-northumberland-street-in-newcastle-with-work-finally-set-to-start-4439782 (Accessed: 07/11/2025).

Old Pictures of Newcastle. (2021) Northumberland Street, 28th April 1969. Available at: https://x.com/PicsOfNewcastle/status/1472638829194579971 (Accessed: 07/11/2025).

puntocentrico. (2017) StrØget, Copenhagen. Available at: https://x.com/puntocentrico/status/856155346087403521 (Accessed: 07/11/2025).