In many cities, large parts of the built environment comprise outdated urban infrastructure that is not ‘future-ready’. The challenge is to make these existing urban neighbourhoods more liveable, resilient and healthy.

A key mechanism used to deliver urban change are major regeneration projects focused on specific urban districts and neighbourhoods. These have the potential to attract inward investment and bring multiple agencies and communities together to deliver transformation at scale. Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter (KQ Liverpool) is a great example of this type of transformation, and is attracting investment and global innovation leaders across health, science, culture and technology.

How can we extend the influence of focused urban regeneration projects like the KQ Liverpool beyond their boundaries? Rail, road and utility infrastructure are corridor- and line-based – these lines link points of demand and interest along their routes. What if we take this approach and apply it to urban regeneration?

We propose that by defining critical paths across cities, we can connect areas of need, interest and potential. These critical paths can amplify and accelerate positive transformation, providing many communities with access to a greener, healthier, more liveable, and better-connected urban environment.

Starting with the KQ Liverpool urban framework, backed by urban analytics and our local understanding of Liverpool, we’ll explore the potential of an urban critical path – a ‘Green Lane’ of transformation – connecting Liverpool’s Waterfront to the KQ Liverpool, and integrating everything in between. The ambition is for Liverpool Green Lanes to catalyse large-scale greening, and promote healthier living, active mobility, place activation, community engagement, and other future interventions to deliver liveable city principles at scale.

The outputs will stimulate discussion and debate on the broader city integration of the KQ Liverpool and help illustrate how healthy city principles can be developed and applied in major urban regeneration projects, providing a benchmark for similar projects.