Barking Riverside is one of the UK’s largest and most ambitious regeneration projects, transforming a 179-hectare former power station site into a new Thames-side district delivering 10,800 homes, schools, healthcare, 65,000 sq.m. of commercial space, a new Overground station, and two kilometres of public river frontage. The development aims to support a new night-time economy and a vibrant, inclusive community in one of London’s fastest-growing boroughs.

Futurecity was commissioned to create a long-term Cultural Placemaking Strategy for Barking Riverside, positioning culture as a foundational layer across the site’s physical, economic and social transformation. The strategy outlines a curatorial framework for embedding creativity throughout the 15-year development lifecycle and across multiple audiences, from local residents to global visitors.

The strategy defines three distinct but interconnected cultural zones:

• Maker – The civic and cultural heart of the development, integrating commercial spaces, the new Overground station, creative industries, and arts organisations.
• Nurture – A network of inclusive, co-designed residential neighbourhoods that embed health, education, and wellbeing within a Healthy New Town ethos.
• Nature – A green and blue corridor of biodiversity, wellbeing, and recreation, activating the river frontage and enhancing ecological value.

Each zone includes a suite of cultural project proposals designed to foster belonging, creativity, and resilience. Approved by the Mayor of London, the masterplan demonstrates how culture can be a driver for inclusive, future-focused urban regeneration—creating not just a place to live, but a place to belong.