The project is led by Luke alongside local young people, and has been running since 2017. You can find out more about the different phases of the project below.

"Hackney Wick Through Young Eyes" report (2018)

In January 2018, we launched the Hackney Wick Through Young Eyes report, based on six months of intensive research with young people in the local community - in schools, youth centres, community projects and at local events. The report was based on interviews, focus groups, workshops, and surveys. In total we engaged over 400 young people aged between 8 and 20.The work for the report was undertaken by Luke along with two brilliant young people, who were in paid roles co-leading the research – Jordan Isaacs and Renee Oyeleye.

You can download the full report here

As well as providing the impetus for the activities we have undertaken for the Hackney Wick Youth Voice project since its publication, the report has also been influential in a number of other ways – influencing the thinking of many Local Authority services, providing supporting evidence for local youth organisations’ fundraising, and helping to ensure that those leading new initiatives in Hackney Wick pay due attention to the needs and concerns of local young people.

More specifically, the report helped pave the way for the borough-wide Hackney Young Futures Commission, and it also played a key role in the Local Authority’s decision to create a brand new youth facility to Hackney Wick, pictured above – the new Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) at the Old Baths. The MUGA opened in February 2022.

‍‍‍Build Up Hackney Project (2019)

Throughout 2019, we worked alongside youth construction charity Build Up on a project with young people from Berger Primary School, Cardinal Pole Secondary School, and Hackney Quest. As a team, the young people designed and then built a beautiful new public space, on the corner of Wick Road and Morning Lane - local young people were given control and ownership over a significant change to their local neighbourhood.

The Build Up project was motivated by key findings of the Hackney Wick Through Young Eyes report – that young people are rarely involved in how their area is changing; that young people are too often negatively stereotyped; and that there aren’t enough opportunities for Secondary and Primary-aged young people to positively interact.

The project was co-led with two brilliant local young adults, Daniel and Shenique, and won a Mayor of London award. You can see a video and photos of the project here.

‍‍‍The Fuse Project (2020-1)

Over eight months in 2020 and 2021, we co-led the Fuse Project, a collaboration between us at Hackney Quest, UCL’s Institute for Global Prosperity, the London Legacy Development Corporation, and youth innovation agency The Plug (run by two local young adults from Hackney). The project provided paid roles for six local young people, who undertook research and service design work, designing a new service to support youth employment (mostly during the pandemic!). The findings of their research help feed into the development of the Good Growth Hub, a new youth employment centre on the Olympic Park.

Improving safety for local young people (2022)

In 2022, we supported two local young adults – Alvin and Kyarna – to undertake research with young people in the local neighbourhood, to understand the factors affecting their safety in the area. This involved engagement with over 50 local young people aged 11 to 21 from five local youth organisations.

Based on this, we produced a short report called The Drivers of Safety and Violence for Young People in Hackney Wick and Homerton, which can be found here. This report fed into the work of Rise Up East, a consortium of local youth organisations (including Hackney Quest) funded by the Violence Reduction Unit to build safety with young people in the local community.

Enhancing MUGA (“cage”) provision for local young people (2022-present)

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From the two reports mentioned above, as well as from our experience working with local young people over decades, we recognised the value that Multi-Use Games Areas (colloquially known as “cages”) have for young people. Many young people told us that their local cage is their favourite part of the local neighbourhood.

Inspired by this, in 2022 we undertook a research project focused specifically on the value of cages to local young people. We worked with Young Hackney Sports Ambassadors, who were paid and trained to design and undertake research with local young people and parents, as well as speaking with 13 youth workers from 7 local sports organisations.

As a result, we produced The Difference a MUGA can make report, which you can read more about and download here. We are pursuing the recommendations with the council and other relevant stakeholders, seeking to maximise the benefits that these important facilities bring to local young people and communities.

The report contributed to the development of the Hackney MUGA Charter, which was signed by all relevant senior council officials in June 2025.

As of Autumn 2025, we are working with the council on the Sport England Place Partnership project, which will include investment in a number of cages across Hackney.

A summary of research that we have been involved in focused on cages can be found here.

Red Path project (2023-present)

The Red Path Project is a collaboration between urban design collective Space Black, youth construction and design specialists Build Up, and us at Hackney Quest. The Red Path Project aims to set a new benchmark for community co-design – handing over power to local young people and residents to decide how Red Path should be transformed, with the help of relevant experts. Red Path is an important pedestrian and cycling path in Hackney Wick which has been neglected and under-maintained for decades. By putting local young people at the centre of planning its improvement, the Red Path project aims to show what community-led urban transformation can achieve.

The project has taken place through two phases, both of which have been funded by the LLDC. In the first phase (late 2023), four local young people worked with expert consultants to produce a RIBA Stage 2 report for Red Path, consisting of detailed design concepts. In the second phase (2025), the young people, expert consultants, and facilitators from Space Black, Build Up and Hackney Quest undertook a series of design workshops with Hackney Council, in order to refine and finalise plans for the path's redesign. As of late 2025, we are in the process of reviewing some initial design proposals from the council.

You can read about the first phase of the project in blogs written by two of the young people working with us as Project Leads: Faith’s blog is here, and Freddie’s is here.

"Homerton for Homerton" project (2023-present)

Since the 2023/24 academic year, we have been closely collaborating with Homerton College, Cambridge on the "Homerton for Homerton" project. Homerton College was founded in Homerton in Hackney in 1768, and the Homerton for Homerton project reconnects the College with this hometown, bringing it back to its roots in East London, and boldly redefining what an Oxbridge college can do for a community. By connecting Homerton College staff, students and resources with young people, community groups and schools in Hackney, the Project brings mutual benefit both to the Hackney community and Homerton College. The Project nurtures the talents and assets of Hackney, whilst also supporting the College’s mission to foster changemakers– people who are making a positive difference in the world. Through the Homerton for Homerton project, Homerton staff and students have the opportunity to do just that, within the College’s hometown.

The Project’s activities are all aimed at supporting the flourishing of Hackney’s young people: bringing together Homerton academics and students with schools and pupils in Hackney; investing some of Homerton College’s funds into community initiatives for young people in Hackney; and creating a range of opportunities for Hackney’s young people to have beneficial experiences in Cambridge.

Activities so far have included supporting charity projects for young people in the Homerton and Hackney Wick neighbourhoods across the Easter Holidays, and running an exciting scientific escape room adventure for over 400 students in local schools.

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