This Eastern half of London’s commercial centre, Canary Wharf, is the kind of place that leaves you breathless. Not only from having to rush past all the businessmen who are late for their meetings, but because its modern, sparkling high-rise buildings are undeniably impressive. This area is part of a key hub of economic activity not only for the UK, but the whole world and has retained its status from its rich history in trade. However, whilst office space dominates its spatial uses, it also has numerous entertainment options, restaurants, and even an ice rink.

Canary Wharf gets its name from the trade the UK used to do with the Canary Islands. Its iconic docks were built in the 1600s to enable the global trade that made Britain a superpower by the Victorian era. Every type of good you could think of probably made its way through Rotherhithe, West India or St Katherine dock at some point. However, due to the intense bombing campaign of the Germans during the Second World War, and more broadly the decline of British power, the docks fell into disuse by the 1970s. Yet it was a decade after in the 1980s when the government created the London Docklands Development Corporation, which made the area attractive to big businesses. Fast forward to today and this economic strategy has produced the shimmering commercial landscape of skyscrapers that the area is famous for.

This side of Canary Wharf has the biggest Waitrose in the UK. This national honour makes a lot of sense considering the needs of the affluent and busy office workers who need a good hearty meal after. This Waitrose even has its own temperature-controlled wine cellar that is available for private tastings.

Although this area has a bit more greenery than the other half of Canary Wharf, it’s still lacking in personal space due to the population density of the area. This contributes to the feeling that it’s not much of a ‘liveable’ place. Whilst it does have great amenities and entertainment, homes are almost exceptionally studios and flats. What’s more, they don’t come cheap since the average salary in the area is £100k.

All this means that Canary Wharf is a place that never stops growing, both upwards and horizontally. New developments prove that is not set to change anytime soon. The new Elizabeth Line station opened in May 2022 alongside a plethora of new restaurants and bars on looking onto the dock from the North Quay. Construction on the nearby Wood Wharf is still on-going and will add a total of 3300 new homes, 2 million sq ft of office space and a further 380 sq ft of recreational areas. In fact, New London Architecture predicts that the Wharf’s population will double over the next ten years with upto 95 new tall buildings currently in the pipeline.