England: Cassidy Quant (Derivé)

For my derivé, I decided to explore Canary Wharf, the new financial district of London. For my political economics class, we had the opportunity to go to the old financial district so I was very curious to see the new financial district.

Canary Wharf was very different from what I was expecting. As it is newer, it is much more modern than most parts of London, for example, my home, Kensington, where the flats are very traditionally styled. To me, Canary Wharf almost felt dystopian as it just looked perfect. The grass was usually fake throughout the city unless in a park, which gave it this pristine feel. There were also plants all over to make up for the boringness of just pavement. Canary Wharf in this sense sounds kind of plain but there are so many different initiatives all over the city that add so much color. I walked through a tunnel that was filled with the brightest colors in a pretty pattern, it seemed like a perfect place for photos. Then, there were occasionally just beautiful parks. One even had glowing neon park benches, adding even more personality. This part of the city reminded me a lot of downtown Chicago with all of the central parks but also huge skyscrapers.

Next, I also found it interesting that once you just go outside of the actual financial district, you are presented with the Isle of the Dogs as depicted above. Based on the first picture, I would never imagine this area is just a 15 minute walk from a major financial district in a major city. In the actual financial district, the city is bustling, with many walking around in their business wear and trench coats, typically rushed. Contrastingly, in the Isle of the Dogs, I ran into maybe two people, also just wondering, and I overall felt extremely at peace. The water was extremely still and as I kept walking, I ended up running into a huge group of swans and ducks. It was beautiful to stand there and watch them swim around for a bit. This is one of the huge things I love about London, the quick change and feel of the environment. You can be anywhere and walk fifteen minutes and experience what feels like a whole new city, sometimes like you are not even in the city at all.

In the future, something I would love to do more when I return to Canary Wharf is to explore more of the Isle of the Dogs, and maybe see if there is any way to take a boat along the Thames. When I was walking, I noticed many boats that were connected to restaurants. They looked like little bubbles with patrons sitting inside enjoying their meals, floating along the river. This would be such a cool experience, one I hope to be able to partake in in the future. I would also love to actually go into the buildings in the financial district. I walked outside of them and as most are glass, I was able to see quite far, but I would love to actually go in and go to the top floor just to see what I am sure is an incredible view.

Finally, some questions I have about Canary Wharf would be whether there are any more developments they are still working on similar to the art initiatives listed above to peak people’s interests. I would also be curious to learn more about the demographic living in Canary Wharf and why they would choose to live in such a modern feeling city over the typically depicted London streets found in places like Kensington.