Canary Wharf is known around the world as perhaps the most successful urban regeneration project ever delivered.
In the space of thirty years, a derelict and unwanted former dock has been transformed into one of the world’s major business and financial centres. When the City of London could not accommodate new technology and larger buildings, and looked set to be eclipsed by other locations in Europe, Canary Wharf provided the essential space for the UK’s financial sector to grow.
Along the way Canary Wharf transformed into a place to live and play as well as work, with more than 1,000,000 sq ft of retail becoming the busiest shopping centre in the UK. With a workforce of nearly 150,000 people based on the site, surrounded by a residential population of a quarter of a million, and over 40 million visitors a year, Canary Wharf is established as a CBD in its own right, larger by itself than the Bankenviertel of Frankfurt and on a par with the CBD of Beijing.
The developer and owner Canary Wharf Group remains the only private company on planet Earth to have developed a full CBD from scratch, within one organisation.
The development has reinvigorated the whole surrounding region of East London, paving the way for the creation of London’s ExCel Exhibition centre, London City Airport, the O2 concert venue, as well as literally tens of thousands of new homes. It has supported and partly funded the delivery of three major new transport connections in the Docklands Light Railway, Jubilee Line and Elizabeth Line (Crossrail).
Today Canary Wharf is entering a new chapter, diversifying into health and life sciences, a major expansion of rented residential accommodation, and a transformation into a global example of sustainable living.
Not everything was easy. Some of the mistakes made and challenges faced by the project are essential to understand how this iconic urban regeneration can be used as inspiration or as a template for other cities.
Our team and Associates include people instrumental in the development and growth of Canary Wharf, including people working directly for the Canary Wharf Group for 20 years, as well as the Government Agencies which took decisions over the project.
Our CEO was Managing Director of Strategy for Canary Wharf Group, with 22 years of experience on the project.
