Over the last ten years, competitive socialising has shifted from a passing trend to a major force reshaping urban life, with activity, health and social connection now central to how we design and use our cities. Such leisure-led experiences have revived struggling shopping centres and regeneration districts, breathing new life into town centres after the pandemic and attracting new audiences to high streets. 

Recent research by Savills highlights that the number of experiential leisure sites has grown by 40 per cent since 2018, with a further 30 per cent increase anticipated by 2030. Venues focused on single activities—like axe-throwing, padel, and ping pong—have seen a 162 per cent rise in just five years, showing this revolution is here to stay. The most successful mixed-use districts are those that offer compelling reasons for people to visit, linger and return, not just to shop or dine, but to connect as a community. 

King’s Cross exemplifies this approach, blending green spaces, cultural programming and active amenities to create one of London’s most vibrant destinations. At Brent Cross Town, a 180-acre development, we are building on this legacy, making ‘sport and play’ the anchor for the neighbourhood. This creates a positive cycle: active communities draw visitors, who, together with residents and local workers, generate vibrancy and long-term value. 

This vision came to life with The Play Offs at Brent Cross Town—a free weekend of high ropes, wall climbing, baseball and World Chase Tag, attracting over 1,500 participants and transforming the area into a theatre of movement and connection. The event demonstrated how ‘sport and play’ serve as the social fabric of communities and a catalyst for healthier, happier cities. 

Too often, urban development focuses on buildings rather than the spaces between them, creating places for living and working but not for play. Yet, there is a growing appetite—particularly among younger generations—for active, social environments that prioritise wellbeing over the traditional, alcohol-driven night-time economy. 

Imagine building a town around sport and play, with top-quality facilities and a diverse range of activities for all abilities and ages. London has plenty of places to watch sport, but comparatively few where people can actively participate. Existing venues often don’t cater for the full variety of movement and sport. A unique community is one where parks not only offer pitches but are also proactively programmed for activities such as running clubs, outdoor Pilates, grassroots sports, walking football, step-count walking routes, bouldering, racket games, mini-golf, nature trails and kite flying. 

Our ambition for Brent Cross Town is to become London’s most active new neighbourhood. This means investing in 44 acres of playing fields for both traditional and emerging sports, introducing an indoor baseball facility, and creating walking and cycling routes that make active travel the obvious choice. We are designing open spaces that encourage both informal play and organised community events. 

But our approach goes beyond just infrastructure. We are pioneering the Flourishing Index, a unique measure of wellbeing created with the University of Manchester and Buro Happold. By tracking residents’ wellbeing throughout Brent Cross Town’s development, we aim to better understand how the built environment affects quality of life and to design places where people can truly thrive. At its core, this is a shift in thinking: play is not an afterthought—it’s a powerful tool for connection. 

When people have spaces to move, laugh and compete together, they forge stronger links with each other and their community. As cities continue to evolve, it’s vital for developers and policymakers to remember: cities that play together, stay together.