Fitzalan Square is quite a rough area of Sheffield, where many people feel uncomfortable to walk through, especially alone. This is due to the way that is has been left and neglected for years. Therefore, we feel that the themes we’ve chosen for our project, will allow this area to be created into a space where people feel safe and can walk or sit in, without feeling compromised or in danger.

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In Sheffield, you have to travel out of the city before you come across any parks or vegetation. Therefore, as there’s not a lot of it in the center of Sheffield, we decided to try and add more of this into the space that we are re-designing. We hope that this will attract more people to the square, as there’s a place for people to relax and unwind in a park like setting.

 

By adding more greenery into the heart of Sheffield itself, I feel it will benefit the city a lot, as people won’t have to travel to see greenery, as it will be on people’s doorsteps. The term used for this is known as ‘Urban Planning’. It’s very important to have a green space in cities for both human and environmental health.

 

We wanted to incorporate some of Sheffield’s history into our project, so that it shows how we have thought about Sheffield and what made it most famous. Therefore, we thought by using Steel to place on the buildings to make them look more aesthetically pleasing will show how we have wanted to bring back some of Sheffield’s history while creating a new and modern Sheffield in the process.

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The space around the square is very dark and dingy, so we thought that by adding colour around square and the area beyond it would make it feel safer and make more people want to visit. Due to the square being quite an unsafe area of Sheffield, especially at night, we thought that by placing lights around the square, it would mean that people would feel a lot safer and actually want to use the new area that has been created.

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While walking around Sheffield, it’s obvious that most routes or path ways are suddenly blocked off by roads or tram ways. Although there are areas to cross for pedestrians, they aren’t always conveniently placed and can slow people down having to wait for the traffic lights. Therefore, we decided to make the space a pedestrian zone only, so there’s no time wasted and no risk of injury from the traffic through the city center. We also thought this would be a safer option as there would be no traffic around to cause road accidents and it would be a more populated area with colour, light and people, so there’s less risk of any crime in the area.

This area plan of Fitzalan square, is showing where the roads will be taken out, and paths will be placed instead, to allow for this square to be for pedestrians only.

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By creating seating areas, water features, colour and lights, it will bring people together to socialise and create a place for people of all ages to come together and relax in this new place in the heart of the city.

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Green spaces provide space for all types of people to interact with each other and meet new people. They’re also great spaces for events and for people to engage in recreational activities. This allows people to develop a sense of community and interact with each other and live up to its title as the friendliest city in the UK.

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It’s proven that by increasing the number of green spaces in a neighborhood also reduces crime rates, especially within the youth. By giving young people a safe place to interact with one another they keep them off the streets and out of trouble. Therefore, as the space will used by many people, there are more eyes watching people, so it’ll create a safer environment for everyone.