Street Furniture and Community Friendly Spaces
The very purpose of street furniture is to enhance social interaction; ensuring people have somewhere safe, accessible and comfortable to sit and relax outside whilst waiting for or meeting friends & loved ones, or making their way to another destination.
As such, well-designed, considerate and stylish street furniture plays a truly central role in enhancing communities and bringing people together – helping to shape community friendly spaces. Here, we’ll explore how outdoor seating such as a wooden bench or picnic table can achieve this.
The Role of Street Furniture in Creating Community Friendly Spaces
Encourages social interaction: by providing safe, stylish and comfortable outdoor seating such as wooden benches or picnic tables & benches, street furniture provides places where people can sit, relax and unwind with friends & loved ones, engage in conversation, perhaps enjoy a spot of lunch or a coffee, and take a moment outside of their busy schedule to connect with others.
Transforms outdoor spaces: what’s more, well-designed street furniture can easily transform outdoor spaces into accessible, comfortable event spaces for any number of community gatherings, such as local festivals, markets or performances; further strengthening social bonds and fostering a deep sense of community.
Makes outdoor spaces more accessible: outdoor seating also makes outdoor space inherently more accessible, ensuring people who experience or live with limited mobility are supported to sit down, rest and reset if and when they need along their journey – never underestimate the impact of a well-positioned wooden bench!
Creates aesthetically pleasing spaces: street furniture plays a crucial role in shaping aesthetically pleasing urban spaces by enhancing the visual appeal of public areas, and complementing existing surroundings. Well-designed and maintained street furniture and planters and giant plant pots can transform mundane areas into beautiful, functional spaces that can promote biodiversity and create enjoyment.
Creates a sense of place and belonging: by encouraging social interaction and helping to create accessible, aesthetically pleasing spaces, street furniture also helps to create a sense of place and belonging; creating welcoming, inviting and safe spaces that feel almost like a home away from home.
Promotes safety, security and comfort: by enhancing urban spaces and providing essential amenities such as bin stores, bollards, bike racks and cycle shelters, urban street furniture also helps to promote safety, security and comfort; lessening the risk of littering, bicycle theft, and deterring antisocial behaviour.
Supports sustainability: urban street furniture can also support community efforts to act more sustainably by using recycled and renewable materials, extending the lifespan of products through modular design and easy repair. Alongside this, incorporating greenery into urban areas such as city centres through planters and living roofs serves to improve air quality, absorb noise and nurture biodiversity.
What Street Furniture Means to Langley Design
As a leading street furniture manufacturer, we have worked within the UK Construction Industry for nearly 30 years designing, creating and installing street furniture for a number of high-profile projects across a broad range of sectors including Education, Housing, Public Realm, Office and Industrial, Healthcare.
We pride ourselves on the quality of our products and the outstanding service we deliver; working collaboratively to evaluate each client’s needs and tailor our products to suit design, performance, environmental and cost objectives. Our projects at Christ Church Academy in Birmingham, and Birchwood Business Park in Warrington are two excellent examples of how we have achieved this.
Here at Langley Design, we believe that street furniture plays an integral role in creating community friendly spaces and ensuring that every space is accessible and everyone feels meaningfully connected to their surroundings.
Browse our full range of products, peruse our growing project portfolio or contact us for more information.