Despite Hackney boasting London's second-highest number of community centres (90 in 2023), our analysis reveals a surprising shortfall - when adjusted for population density, provision drops below the London average. This quantitative mismatch aligns with qualitative findings: during site visits, residents frequently cited cultural venues outside Hackney (like the Young V&A or Shoreditch Library) as preferred destinations, suggesting local facilities may not fully meet community needs.
The Museum of the Home's staff identified deeper systemic issues, noting how "artification" and gentrification have commercialised cultural spaces, alienating long-standing residents. Even with the museum's active efforts to engage marginalised communities (including Hackney's Vietnamese population), many locals feel culturally excluded from venues in their own borough. This tension between numerical abundance and lived experience highlights how raw data can obscure cultural accessibility challenges - where physical proximity doesn't necessarily translate to felt inclusion or relevance for diverse communities.