Pathways to Outcomes-Based Public Realm

Critical Importance of Public Space

Public spaces are the heart of urban life, playing a vital role in fostering social cohesion, promoting community well-being, and addressing environmental challenges. However, poor decision-making in the planning, design, and stewardship of these spaces often results in missed opportunities for environmental sustainability and social equity. From insufficient community engagement to the lack of long-term ecological planning, traditional urban development models fall short of creating truly resilient and inclusive spaces. Tackling these challenges requires a comprehensive, outcomes-based approach that integrates both ecological health and community priorities.

The Dark Matter in the Way

Fragmented decision-making, power imbalances, and low trust between stakeholders have long been barriers to effective public space development. The complexity of balancing ecological considerations—such as climate resilience and biodiversity—with community-driven priorities, and planning/ developmental requirements makes the process even more challenging. Poor decisions can lead to social and environmental ecosystems that fail to provide essential services like urban cooling, flood mitigation, or improved air quality. Addressing these issues requires tools that foster collaboration, transparency, and data-driven decision-making to ensure long-term value creation.

Can Digital Tools Support Outcomes-Based Public Realm?

We wanted to explore whether digital tools can help bridge the gap by enabling a more inclusive, transparent, and resilient approach to public space development. These tools must not only integrate community input but also statutory requirements, developer goals alongside considering the requirements of our non-human neighbours.

What We Did

After creating a framing report with prototype ideas, we hosted a series of feedback events to refine the concepts and ensure they met the needs of all stakeholders.

These events helped us narrow the focus on three key prototypes - Habitats Recommendation Tool, Public Space Outcomes Dashboard and Public Space Activation Tool. Building on this, we organised a hackathon that brought together over 50 participants, including designers, developers, community members, and local authorities. To see the prototypes please check out

These prototypes represent a shift towards outcomes-driven planning. For more information and access to all six prototypes, check out the full report here and this webpage