Vision-led placemaking

Places should be designed around people. The vision-led approach of our placemaking specialists redefines sustainable development by focusing on user movement and accessibility requirements. By understanding people and places we design transport connections that make walking, cycling, and public transport the natural choice, resulting in vibrant, healthy neighbourhoods.

Communities designed for people

Vision-led placemaking is transforming development by putting people first. Rather than asking, “What roads do we need?” we start with, “What do people want, what are the opportunities for sustainable choices and what connections will make that possible?”

Our approach to urban design begins with a clear ambition: to create vibrant, healthy, and accessible places. By balancing place and movement, we design neighbourhoods where the natural choice is walking, cycling or public transport, reducing car dependency and enhancing quality of life.

Planning consent can be complex and costly. That’s why we develop place-led movement and transport strategies that strengthen your market position, appeal to future occupiers, and make consent easier to secure.

Combining technical expertise, engineering excellence, and a commitment to sustainability, we support clients at every stage - from feasibility and local plan representation to masterplanning and design codes - turning vision into reality.

Our four key pillars

Strategic site selection

We help our clients stand out as quality land promoters through early, strategic site selection. Using advanced design and mapping tools combined with open transport and socio-economic data, we identify locations that are not only highly accessible but also have the potential to become even better connected through cost-effective sustainable solutions. This data-driven approach delivers sustainable developments that appeal to investors and residents alike.

Co-creating great places

Navigating planning consent for complex or contested developments requires a clear vision. We work closely with clients, planners, and consultants to co-create transport strategies that align with local policy, community aspirations, and ESG and net-zero goals. This partnership-driven approach reduces objections, builds trust with stakeholders, and unlocks successful outcomes.

People are riding bicycles on the street

Delivering sustainable value

By prioritising sustainable transport from the outset, we significantly reduce our clients’ reliance on expensive infrastructure such as road building. This vision-led placemaking helps deliver outstanding outcomes that are cost effective without compromising on quality. As well as lowering costs of urban design and development, this improves project viability, and helps minimise the risk of prolonged objections.

People are in front of the market buidling

Quantifying the positive long-term impact

Securing planning consent is just the beginning. We work alongside clients and partners to implement and monitor sustainable transport strategies post-consent. This hands-on approach ensures we deliver the original vision and satisfy all legal and planning obligations. Our monitoring provides clear, quantitative evidence to show how your project delivers lasting social, environmental, and economic benefits.

Strategic site selection

Co-creating great places

Delivering sustainable value

Quantifying the positive long-term impact

Specialists in placemaking strategy and design

Our team blends public and private-sector expertise, enabling us to deliver high-quality, sustainable design that meets the complex needs of developers, local authorities, and wider stakeholders. We combine rigorous technical proficiency with this integrated expertise to underpin our creative, innovative thinking, producing sound and effective transport assessments, travel plans, masterplans, and strategies that genuinely deliver.

Click the video link to hear directly from Scott Marshall, our Director of Sustainable Places, as he introduces our vision-led approach.

Key services

Development planning

Transport planning
Transport assessment
S106 and S278 agreements, NCIL and CIL
Travel plans
Construction logistics & traffic management plans
Traffic engineering

Highway engineering & design

Urban mobility
Infrastructure
Utilities
Environment & climate emergency
Urban air quality
Expert witness

Placemaking

Client advisory
Masterplanning, vision & strategy development
Public realm design

Our approach

Strategic advice

We provide expert, data-led guidance on site selection from the earliest stages. Our approach assesses and mitigates transport impacts for both private and public sector clients, focusing on accessibility, integration, and sustainability. We identify sites best suited for creating well-connected communities - maximising consent potential and long-term success.

Masterplanning & planning applications

We offer the full range of transport-related development planning services to support all types of schemes, including scoping notes, transport assessments and statements, technical analysis and traffic modelling. We apply the latest best practice in assessment guidelines and approaches, such as Healthy Streets.

Highway design & engineering

We transform innovative ideas into sustainable, buildable infrastructure, guiding clients through every stage - from the first sketch to construction-ready designs. As Chartered Civil Engineers, our outputs adhere to the highest design standards and deliver transport schemes that meet the needs of the client while also embedding the safety and usability network.

Travel plans & behaviour change

We design and deliver travel plans that maximise new infrastructure and promote sustainable transport. Collaborating with clients and stakeholders, we implement measures for residents and host events that inspire walking, cycling, and bus use. Our initiatives consistently outperform sustainable travel targets, driving real change in communities.

Explore our new tool

Placemaking tool

How well connected is your site?

Confident decisions, stronger proposals and better places from day one

Find out in minutes with our interactive placemaking tool. Select your site and the tool will show you key insights such as public transport, walking and cycle routes, car ownership and local employment centres.

Explore our new toolExplore our new tool

Blog

Vision-led placemaking is a chance to put communities at the heart of transport planning

Vision-led planning is fast replacing “predict and provide” transport strategies. But what is the difference and how can this new approach create more liveable communities? ITP's Associate Director, Nicola Lodge, shares insights into how our vision-led approach is developing and the impact she is already seeing.