Andy Harris, Director at John McAslan + Partners and lead of the practice’s Landscape and Urban Design Studio, has been interviewed for The Roots and All Podcast, hosted by Sarah Wilson, to discuss the transformation of London’s Sloane Street.
In conversation with fellow landscape architect Andy Sturgeon, Andy reflects on the ambition behind reimagining this 1km stretch of central London as a greener, calmer and more people-centred boulevard. Inspired by the nearby Chelsea Physic Garden, the project set out to move Sloane Street away from its former identity as a traffic-dominated thoroughfare, towards a place that encourages wellbeing, biodiversity and social life.
The discussion explores how landscape can act as environmental infrastructure – knitting together retail and residential uses, softening the public realm, and encouraging people not simply to pass through, but to linger. Topics range from working around underground constraints and reducing traffic dominance, to achieving biodiversity uplift and planning for long-term stewardship.
The episode offers a compelling companion to last year’s Roots and All discussion on New York’s High Line, highlighting how thoughtful urban greening can reshape experience, behaviour and connection in the heart of the city.
Listen to the episode: Retail Meets Urban Nature
