Hackney Housing Estates Wayfinding

Overview

This project focuses on improving wayfinding across Hackney housing estates in Hoxton, making it easier for residents and visitors to navigate between homes, services and surrounding streets.

By helping people move more confidently through estate environments, the project will support better day-to-day access while strengthening connections between estates and the wider neighbourhood.

What is happening

We are developing proposals to introduce clearer signage and directional information across housing estates in Hoxton.

This will help people find key locations more easily, including building entrances, walking routes, community facilities and links to nearby streets and services.

The project will also look at how connections between estates and the surrounding area can be made more visible and easier to follow. This will help movement between estates and the wider neighbourhood feel more direct, accessible and welcoming.

The Arden Estate is being used as the first phase of this wider approach. The proposals include new community maps showing homes, entrances, local facilities, public transport connections and routes to nearby destinations.

Arden Estate community maps

The first new maps are being developed for the Arden Estate. They will help residents and visitors identify building entrances, walking routes and important local destinations.

The maps will also show connections to nearby facilities and places, including:

• Arden Estate Community Hall
• Hoxton Garden
• Hoxton Hall
• Hoxton Trust
• Peer Gallery and Khadija’s Garden
• Shoreditch Library
• Shoreditch Park
• Britannia Leisure Centre
• Hoxton Station and Old Street Station

The image below shows one example of the proposed Arden Estate map designs.

How this project responds

This project responds by introducing clearer and more consistent wayfinding across housing estates, helping people understand where they are and how to move through these spaces.

By making routes, entrances and local destinations easier to identify, the project will support more direct and confident everyday movement for residents and visitors.

It will also strengthen links between estates and surrounding streets, helping housing estates feel better connected to the wider Hoxton neighbourhood and contributing to a more accessible and inclusive local environment.