Excessive motor vehicle use is an established problem affecting Scotland’s ability to meet its climate-change targets. Furthermore, neighbourhood vehicle traffic prevents residents from connecting and playing in their own streets, impacting the physical, mental, and social health of Scotland’s traffic-dense neighbourhoods.

“Play Streets” have been proposed in England as temporary interventions to make streets traffic-free. Residents lead short-term road closures, creating a safe space to play and connect outside their homes. Play Streets have not yet been widely implemented in Scotland.

Through their award, this collective plan a local evaluation of Play Streets in Inverness to gather evidence needed to support community organisations in building a case for Play Streets in Scotland. Follow-on funding could then be sought to evaluate the fully implemented Play Streets across Scotland.

Deirdre Harrington, lead of Strathclyde’s Active Mobility Hub, said, “I am pleased to accept this award on behalf of our collective. This project idea was truly community-initiated and driven. I have already learned a lot from our partners in Inverness, who are committed to gathering evidence on Play Streets. Their knowledge of Play Streets is a valuable resource for this project, and we hope to be a good example of academic research that supports local community-driven action in Scotland.”