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Urban living, naturally: heroing biodiversity in an East London neighbourhood.

Poplar Riverside is a new urban neighbourhood on previously contaminated brownfield land in East London. The clean-up of the site, and developer Berkeley Homes' work with London Wildlife Trust to recreate lost habitat along the River Lea, made it a showcase project for sustainability and an opportunity to engage with local community as well as potential residents.

The new strapline — Urban living, naturally — summed up Berkeley’s vision of existing in harmony with local community and environment. Through workshops with key stakeholders this was distilled into three brand values: progressive, sustainable, and landscape-led. 

To deliver on these values for launch, we worked with renowned wildlife photographer, Matthew Maran, to document urban wildlife on and around the site as the build progressed.
Tactical and placemaking campaigns focused on local community and nature — including the Be More Poplar and A–Z of Poplar campaigns — alongside a programme of engagement activities including podcasts, photography workshops, and competitions.

By developing the brand around river and nature, not only did it demonstrate benefit to the existing local community and wildlife, but it also created rich, authentic stories that attracted potential new residents. The approach was a success, with high levels of positive engagement and annual targets exceeded within the first 6 months of brand launch.