After 7 years of planning, the concept of 'shared space' arrives to the capital at Exhibition road, South Kensington.

The idea of this shared space, also known as the 'naked street', is still very fresh in the UK. What the country has been used to so far is pretty much the standard type of urban design, characterized by segmented roads with some parts reserved exclusively for vehicles, and others for the rest of road users. Pedestrians, for instance, cannot use the same space as cars, but have their own sidewalks which in turn cars cannot use. Having separate spaces comes from the idea that it is just much safer that way.

Shared space, on the contrary, supposes that road users are responsible and able to react to any threat or danger. The design of the space is such that it minimizes any possible accident by allowing maximum eye contact between all road users. However, shared space is purposefully designed without any rules so that people are somewhat uncertain about who has the priority and end up agreeing amongst themselves on who will have the next move. In a situation where traffic lights rule, accidents are more likely to occur as road users take into account that aspect only, while taking for granted other, unexpected factors.

Research throughout Europe has proven that sharing space is much safer than separating space, and examples exist in many countries such as France, Germany, Holland and Denmark. Not only is safety increased with shared space, but efficiency as well. Indeed, in a shared space, cars don't have to waste fuel while waiting in front of red lights and can use free space instead of leaving it empty, which means everything keeps moving and becomes faster. Also, pedestrians don't have to waste their time finding specific crossings or waiting for the green light to cross the road, but can cross at a convenient point when deemed suitable.

Everything becomes smoother and everyone pays more attention to the road and its users. Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians end up showing more respect towards each other, time is better used, space is optimised and safety is increased.

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