Active Design is an innovative set of design guidelines to
promote opportunities for sport and physical activity in the design
and layout of development.
Sport England believes that being active should be an intrinsic
part of everyone’s life pattern. The master planning of major new
housing and mixed use development schemes has a vital role in
providing easy access to a choice of opportunities for sport and
physical activity, making new communities more active and healthy.
Active Design is aimed at urban designers, master planners and the
architects of our new communities.
Download the
Active Design criteria.
Download the
Active Design martix.
Active Design is an innovative set of design guidelines to
promote opportunities for sport and physical activity in the design
and layout of development.
The guidance promotes sport and activity through three key
Active Design principles of - improving accessibility, enhancing
amenity and increasing awareness.
Accessibility
Improving accessibility refers to the provision of easy, safe
and convenient access to a choice of opportunities for
participating in sport, active travel and physical activity for the
whole community.
Amenity
Enhancing amenity involves the promotion of environmental
quality in the design and layout of new sports and recreational
facilities, the links to them and their relationship to other
development and the wider public realm.
Awareness
Increasing awareness highlights the need for increased
prominence and legibility of sports and recreation facilities and
opportunities for exercise through the layout of the
development.
These three key elements have been developed into a criteria
based approach to be used at the master planning stage of major
developments to help create environments that maximise
opportunities for participation in sport and physical activity.
The criteria can be used both as a guide during the planning
process, or as a critic for developments that have already been
designed.
Active Design has been produced in partnership with David Lock Associates, specialists
in town planning and urban design.
If you would like to know more about the project, please
contact, planning@sportengland.org