Permeability between the Town Centre and the surrounding areas is poor. The central area has been severed by major traffic routes. Whilst there are some
designated crossing facilities, many are via subways that raise concern over personal security. Similarly access for those with impaired mobility is substandard. In addition to the stranglehold of road and rail, topography also remains one of the biggest barriers to easily moving around Gateshead.

Landmarks, gateways, clearly defined streets and built edges, focal points and nodes all contribute to the legibility and memorability of an urban area. The ability to see important routes and landmarks are integral to orientation and reinforcing the sense of place. The key elements that help one to understand and remember Gateshead and identify the main movement corridors have been recorded. It is particularly evident that the area lacks memorable gateways on its main approaches.

The realignment of the highways in the 1960s and ‘70s created a number of key junctions around the town centre that was wholly for the benefit of orientating vehicular traffic. This had a detrimental effect on the existing pedestrian nodes/junctions and ignored the need to create new ones. As a result these spaces are limited to the transport interchange, Trinity Square and the pedestrian junctions at the foot of the Swing and Tyne Bridges.

Certain landmarks have been described here as icons. Whilst they are all markers some of the structures have become iconic to Gateshead due to their historical significance, location and notoriety. The majority of landmark buildings are to the edges of the Town Centre and comprise primarily tall blocks of flats with little architectural merit.