A City Made for Whom? Branding, Gentrification, and the Fall of Hackney Walk

UCL The Bartlett DPU | Critical Urban Design & Theory (2024-2025)

Tutor: Giorgio Talocci

This research presents a critical case study of a high-profile urban regeneration project in East London: Hackney Walk, and its rapid transformation from a £100 million flagship development into what has become known as a “luxury ghost town.” Initiated in the wake of the 2011 London riots, Hackney Walk was designed by Sir David Adjaye and promoted as a “Bicester Village-style destination” aimed at revitalizing a historically marginalized community through high-end fashion retail.

The study investigates how a project marketed as a catalyst for social and economic uplift ultimately exacerbated disconnection and exclusion. Instead of addressing systemic inequalities, Hackney Walk became emblematic of regeneration gone wrong—where surface-level beautification and market-driven strategies displaced local needs and businesses.

Key themes explored include:

• The displacement of small, service-oriented enterprises that previously occupied the site’s railway arches.

• The misalignment between luxury branding and the socioeconomic realities of the Hackney Central community, where poverty and youth unemployment remain widespread.

• The incomplete execution of the original architectural vision, with promised towers and public spaces left unrealized.

• The design choices—such as gold-shuttered facades and reflective glass—that created an exclusive, uninviting atmosphere.

This research also maps the network of stakeholders involved, from public entities like the Greater London Authority and Hackney Council, to private developers (Manhattan Loft Corporation, Chatham Works), and affected community members. It exposes the limited and largely symbolic nature of community engagement, where meaningful participation was sidelined in favor of aesthetics-led urban branding.

Through urban analysis, site observations, and community responses, the research reveals how regeneration framed around consumerism and external investment often fails to serve the people most impacted. Groups like Morning Lane People’s Space have since emerged, demanding more inclusive and transparent development at nearby sites like 55 Morning Lane, arguing that real regeneration must begin with community control and care—not branding.

What happens when cities respond to crises with spectacle and investment, but leave poverty, exclusion, and disempowerment unresolved?