As I say in the accompanying article, I was prompted to write about Canary Wharf by bicycling through it last summer and finding it vastly much busier and alive than the City – the river banks and wharf-side bars all packed.
I read endlessly that Canary Wharf is suffering whereas the City is thriving. I wondered if perhaps the truth is the other way round.
https://thecritic.co.uk/the-us-city-on-the-banks-of-the-thames/
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 
I really enjoyed your short article on Canary Wharf. Similarly, when I visited for the first time, I surprised myself by actually liking it – not just the architecture but the whole ‘vibe’, enabled by clever urban planning.
Feels like it’s made for people… having put the hours into their corporate job, people seemed to be enjoying themselves after work, there are place for them to chill out and hang out and there’s no need to go elsewhere… it reminded me of the spaces imaged by the Soviets as a kind of workers’ utopia … ambitious, generous, spacious, and even grand & optimistic in its way – a place to both work and play – and be proud to be there…to be part of it all.
I like the idea of it as a Soviet utopia. Charles
I agree completely, Charles. As I go through there nearly every day for one thing or another, It’s always full of people. The mall is jammed at many times of day, especially on weekends; the public spaces are filled and not only with office workers. This is the major change that I’ve seen over the last few years, especially now that the elizabeth Line is open: the general public, the neighbourhood, people from Poplar, the Isle of Dogs, and much further afield are now flocking to Canary Wharf. What ever may be happening in the office space above, the street below belies the common story.
Dear Richard, I’m so glad to hear my impressions confirmed: it’s so different from the way it’s depicted. Charles