Pedestrianising Oxford Street: turning commercial success into public value
Posted on: 19 October, 2026
As almost a kilometre of London’s most famous shopping street prepares to go traffic-free, Professor Samer Bagaeen, Head of Town Planning, explores why its future depends on experience, attachment and the quality of public space. You can have your say in the poll below.
Oxford Street is one of the world’s most productive and recognisable commercial streets. Attracting around 120 million visitors a year and contributing an estimated £25 billion to London’s economy in 2022, its commercial importance is difficult to overstate. Vacancies are low, global brands are investing and demand for prime space remains strong.
On 26 October, almost a kilometre of the street, from Orchard Street to Great Portland Street, will close to traffic as the first phase of an ambitious pedestrianisation programme gets under way.
The changes come at a time when Oxford Street’s economic strength masks a less impressive reality: the quality of the street does not match the strength of the destination.
It is congested, difficult to cross and short of places to sit, pause or find shade. Its links to Marylebone, Mayfair, Soho and Fitzrovia are also weaker than they should be. Oxford Street draws extraordinary footfall, but overcrowding can deter return visits. The experience has not kept pace with the economics.
Its transformation must therefore be more than a transport scheme or retail initiative. It is an economic and civic project with implications for London’s appeal as a place to visit, invest and spend time.
From footfall to attachment
The most successful places do more than attract visitors. They create attachment. They give people reasons to return and become part of the stories we tell about a city.
Oxford Street occupies a powerful place in the public imagination, but recognition is not the same as affection. Its challenge is shared by other global destinations: how can a street that belongs to the world still feel relevant to those who live in and use the city every day?
The answer lies in broadening Oxford Street’s retail identity. Culture, hospitality, beauty and discovery must sit alongside commerce, with spaces where people can spend time without being required to spend money.
Public realm as economic infrastructure
Public realm is too often treated as an attractive addition to economic development rather than part of its infrastructure. Comfortable, legible streets encourage people to stay longer, explore further and return. That supports shops, restaurants, cultural venues and the wider visitor economy.
The potential economic benefits are considerable. According to the Greater London Authority, pedestrianisation could generate up to £82 million in additional gross value added each year and support more than 700 jobs.
There are already encouraging signs. During the temporary traffic-free event held in September 2025, footfall increased by 45 per cent compared with the previous Sunday, while 67 per cent of surveyed retailers reported sales that were similar to or higher than a typical Sunday.
As consumer behaviour changes, city centres cannot rely on shopping alone. They must offer what cannot be replicated online: social life, distinctive architecture, cultural activity and the pleasure of simply being in the city.
A single guiding mind
Delivering change in central London is difficult. Beneath Oxford Street lies a dense web of transport infrastructure, utilities, fibre, basements and historic engineering. Above ground, every intervention affects businesses, residents, transport operators, public bodies and neighbouring districts.
But complexity cannot excuse inaction. The greater risk is allowing a world-famous street to stand still while climate pressures, consumer expectations and urban life change around it.
The Oxford Street Development Corporation matters because the central constraint is not a lack of investment or ideas, but fragmentation. Its role is to provide focus in an already successful yet highly contested part of the city.
Its value may lie less in formal powers than in its ability to convene partners, coordinate investment and sustain a long-term view. In complex places, leadership means continuity, confidence and follow-through.
A street within a network of places
Oxford Street is not an isolated boulevard. It runs through Marylebone, Mayfair, Soho and Fitzrovia, and its success depends on stronger connections to each of them.
Pedestrianisation should not create a barrier across the West End. Key north–south routes must continue to work while crossings become safer and easier. The prize is a more coherent district in which Oxford Street connects surrounding neighbourhoods and spreads the benefits of investment beyond its frontage.
Test, learn and adapt
The emerging test-and-review approach is a strength. The first phase of pedestrianisation will introduce temporary changes, allowing the Oxford Street Development Corporation to assess how the space is used before progressing towards permanent improvements.
Early interventions, including decluttering, seating, greenery, safety measures, dining areas and new public spaces, can improve the street while revealing how people use it before permanent choices are fixed.
Models and visualisations cannot fully predict human behaviour. People choose unexpected routes, gather in unplanned places and respond differently by season, weather and time of day. Temporary schemes make those patterns visible.
Data on dwell time, air quality and public-space use can inform that learning, but the test is ultimately human: does the street feel safer, more comfortable and more inclusive, and does that strengthen the wider economy?
From a successful street to a great place
Oxford Street’s transformation offers a chance to redefine success for a 21st-century city street.
Success should mean easier movement, stronger links to surrounding neighbourhoods, public spaces that invite people to linger and commercial vitality matched by civic value.
Oxford Street already has global reach and economic strength. The task now is to turn those assets into a richer human experience, and a street that Londoners feel is genuinely theirs.
Shape the future of our cities
Interested in how urban planning can create more sustainable, inclusive and economically thriving places? Explore the University of the Built Environment’s MSc Urban Planning programme and discover how you could help shape the towns and cities of tomorrow.
About Professor Samer Bagaeen
Professor Samer Bagaeen is Head of Town Planning at the University of the Built Environment and Vice President of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). An internationally experienced planning specialist, he has worked across academia, government and the private sector, advising on urban resilience, infrastructure and sustainable development.
A regular contributor to public debate, Samer has also made several appearances on the BBC discussing issues including urban regeneration, new towns and major infrastructure projects. Read more about Professor Samer Bagaeen.
