All London Green Grid – landscape and open space planning

Creating networks of long-distance walks, like the London Loop, the Capital Ring and the Jubilee Greenway is an aspect of landscape and open space planning for London and should be integrated with landscape planning for and cycle routes.

The All London Green Grid is a less-than-ideal name for a really important idea. ‘Grid’ suggests something rigid, man-made and often harsh: traffic is said to be ‘grid locked’, race tracks have a ‘starting grid’; the UK’s National Grid has pylons marching across the countryside; you can have a grid of networked computers. Related terms for related concepts include: emerald necklace, park system, open space system, green chain, green network, greenway system. For free downloads and a historical perspective on how Londoners have planned this type of route please see Reports on London landscape, open space, greenway and green infrastructure planning. The green grid should be used as a landscape planning framework for London’s walking and cycling networks.