The Tyne doesn't need a branding workshop. Stand beside it, look at the bridges and you can see why people want to spend time here.
Newcastle's Quayside already has something plenty of places spend years trying to create: a recognisable identity. The interesting question is how to make everyday life here as appealing as the photograph.
There are good reasons to be optimistic. Across the river, Baltic and The Glasshouse bring art and music to Gateshead Quays. The bridges connect places with different things to offer. Newcastle's riverside has food, drink, workplaces and homes within the same part of the city.
That mix creates possibilities throughout the day. Somebody coming for an exhibition needs lunch. Somebody working nearby needs a coffee, or somewhere to meet a colleague without booking a conference room. A resident needs places they can enjoy regularly.
A place people use every day
The future of the Quayside depends partly on how well it serves those ordinary needs. A spectacular skyline gets people to look. Useful, welcoming businesses give them reasons to stay and return.
Independent cafés, restaurants and shops have a part to play here. Each can offer something particular: food you look forward to, people who recognise you, a place you suggest when a friend asks where to meet.
At Fork, our part of that story is at One Trinity Gardens on Pandon Bank. Focaccia, coffee, weekday lunches and catering for nearby businesses are practical ways to be part of a neighbourhood.
There are no automatic happy endings for a city district. Getting around matters. Public spaces need care. Businesses need customers, and customers need places that justify the trip.
But the Quayside has a strong starting point. There is culture, character and a river that makes an ordinary walk feel like you've gone somewhere.
Build on that by making the everyday experience better and the future looks promising. Somewhere people enjoy being on a fairly unremarkable Tuesday has a lot going for it.