Futurecity is working with Peabody to position culture and creativity at the heart of Thamesmead’s transformation—contributing strategic provocations to the Thamesmead Futures Plan that reimagine the district’s future through public art, cultural infrastructure, and creative partnerships. Our work aims to shift the narrative of this historically overlooked part of London by embedding long-term cultural value into the regeneration process.

This comes as Thamesmead was named twice among the first wave of London’s Housing Zones, announced by the Mayor of London. With £260 million of new investment and 28,000 homes fast-tracked across nine boroughs, the initiative marks a major step-change in the capital’s regeneration landscape. Backed by the boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley and led by Peabody, Thamesmead is set to undergo one of the most ambitious urban renewal programmes in London.

Built in the late 1960s, Thamesmead has long been regarded as one of the UK’s most controversial social housing experiments—its promise quickly overshadowed by poor design, lack of infrastructure, and social disconnect. Culturally, it’s been cast in dystopian roles, famously featuring in A Clockwork Orange and Channel 4’s Misfits.

Futurecity’s vision challenges this limiting narrative. We have developed a series of cultural provocations for the Thamesmead Futures Plan that explore the potential for embedded arts, public realm activation, and high-impact partnerships with leading London cultural institutions. Drawing on models of socially engaged artist residencies—such as Jeanne van Heeswijk, Superflux, and Cascoland—we’ve made the case for long-term cultural investment that connects Thamesmead’s 40,000+ residents to the wider creative life of the city.

Peabody has responded with genuine enthusiasm for culture as a driver of change, and we look forward to helping shape a future for Thamesmead where creativity becomes a defining feature of place.

Image of creative residency in Thamesmead, summer 2014, by The Brick Box: Roxane Grant.