Some examples of best practice principles as other cities create lasting visions for their waterfronts.
Chattanooga
Though only the fourth-largest city in Tennessee at 155,500 residents, Chattanooga has served as a model in urban waterfront revitalization since the city began its process twenty years ago. A former industrial center, Chattanooga’s land along the Tennessee River was once so polluted that it bordered on uninhabitable. This same land is now its primary tourist attraction. The City of Chattanooga’s riverfront vision, entitled “The 21st Century Waterfront,” was a $120- million, 129-acre project that used the Tennessee River as the primary resource to revive the city’s downtown. Objectives central to the plan include:
The return to the river is now complete; the river banks are now lined with an aquarium, art museum, children’s museum, carousel, theaters, green space, public art, and pedestrian bridge and promenades. Chattanooga’s main innovation was capitalizing on public-private sector partnerships that planned, funded, and implemented the project.
Chattanooga planners used of public investment as a catalyst for private development, creating smart and attractive urban design along the waterfront with city and state dollars that encouraged private investment. For example, while the three museums, public space and public art was funded by the government, the River Pier Landing received huge support from private developers, for retail as well as residential projects. This has made Chattanooga a model of urban revitalization for cities nationwide.
Chattanooga’s success can also be attributed to its ability to integrate ongoing civic input into a vision that was guided by professionals who used urban design to spur the waterfront’s long-term revitalization. Some of the riverfront’s urban design challenges included filling the river, constructing a major city pier, narrowing a busy roadway, reconnecting the waterfront to downtown, and redesigning its public spaces so that the waterfront would become a pedestrian-friendly district.
http://www.waterfrontchattanooga.com/
Boston Piers Park is a 6.5-acre children’s playground that was built on Marginal Street along the East Boston riverfront in 1995. It answers the dense residential East Boston neighborhood’s need for public open space, and does so using play structures, and natural materials and forms to complement the waterfront.
The Park is owned and operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority, which sought to design a space that could address all adjacent neighborhood needs. The park reclaims an abandoned pier and provides direct pedestrian access to the waterfront. Two pavilions provide a place for people to enjoy great views of downtown across Boston’s inner harbor. The park also features a 600-foot promenade and paved trail system that weaves through the natural vegetation and landscaping of the park.
The granite seawall used in the park is the material that has guarded the contour of the structure since 1870. Along with the pedestrian walkways, there is also an amphitheater for public activities, a sailing center that provides direct access to Boston Harbor, an “outdoor fitness system” along the trails, and fencing for security.
The park’s success is in large part due to the fact that it was designed with significant participation from the community, and by designers that were sensitive to the public outreach process. Local residents affected wide-ranging decisions from the type of park furniture to the list of activities permitted at the park. The fact that citizen concerns were channeled into concrete proposals gave residents a sense of ownership over the park, which has contributed significantly to its success. Thanks to this level of involvement, Piers Park has programmed activity for all ages, places for public events, and a sense of security that creates a positive playing environment.
www.piersparksailing.org
www.bostonharborwalk.com
www.massport.com
www.boston.com/beyond_bigdig/cases/piers.htm
Boston
South Boston Marine Park South Boston Marine Park is a new project designed and developed by the Massachusetts Port Authority (“MassPort”) on land it owns along the South Boston waterfront. The delta-shaped park will be built on two parcels totaling less than 1.5 acres flanked on each side by tall office and hotel buildings. Riverside restaurants are also planned with a great harbor view, and there will be public areas designed for sitting and gathering. The plan is to create a new public destination along the waterfront at the center of this new commercial and hotel complex.
The park space became available after the straightening of D Street in South Boston, which will provide the neighborhood with direct auto access to the waterfront. Tree canopies will provide shade and definition to the park’s edges, and a lawn graces the Northern Avenue end of the park that slopes up to increase views of the harbor. The lawn centerpiece surrounded by trees present the public with a range of open space options. The sidewalk along Northern Avenue is wide enough to accommodate a stage for public events, and the park contains a food stand with shaded seating area for patrons.
Marine Park, along with Piers Park, shows the value of the Port Authority, a company that has a vision along with power and financial resources. Open space near a dense complex is important, and the addition of food services inside the Park makes it a popular destination. The mix of natural element with man-made improvement — such as the lawn built to intentionally slope, and the trees planted to line the park edges — provide examples of clever and interesting design methods. MassPort also incorporated authentically Boston design elements to identify it as a unique waterfront space, such as the “clam-shack.”
Providence
Providence is a model because its political leadership was willing to take risks, embrace a revolutionary idea, and put it into action. Dubbed the Renaissance City, Providence has experienced major changes in its form and function over the past quarter-century, many of them focused on the city’s rivers.
In the nineteenth century, the city was built around the Cove Basin, which supported industry and recreation. As industrialization increased, the rivers became heavily polluted and were eventually filled in to make room for more development. They were decked over early in the twentieth century, creating the “World’s Widest Bridge.” Although the “nuisance” of the river was hidden, the decking caused more problems than it solved.
In the late 1970s, a revolutionary planning movement began which envisioned a new waterfront for Providence. It proposed moving the rivers and Interstate 1-95, recapturng the historic Jewelry District, and creating a promenade along the entire length of the waterfront. William Warner is credited as being the visionary of this plan.
After 30 years, the long and difficult process of revitalizing downtown Providence continues today. Cooperation between local, state, and federal government, as well as civic and business leadership has kept the plan on track. Warner has been instrumental in the continuity of the plan, ensuring design control over the bridges and waterfront parks, and creating a welcoming environment that echoed Providence’s historic character. The waterfront walkways have once again become a gathering place for residents and visitors. Because of the revitalized waterfront, Providence has experienced a boom in real estate development. An urban shopping and entertainment center, hotels, and office buildings have been built downtown, with more to come as I-195 is relocated. The waterfront offers restaurants, an amphitheater, and seating
More Informaiton:
http://www.winterac.com/intro.htm
http://www.nps.gov/blac/planyourvisit/valley-sites-providence.htm
San Francisco
San Francisco’s shoreline was one of the busiest areas of foot traffic in the world in the early 20th century. However, following the construction of the Bay Bridge and the decline of ferries, the area fell into decline. The rise of the automobile led to the Embarcadero Freeway being built in the 1960s, improving auto access to San Francisco but dividing the waterfront from downtown.
But the combination of a natural disaster and community opposition led to a total transformation of the shoreline and the creation of one of the most dynamic waterfronts in the country. After being severely damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the highway was torn down in 1991. After the freeway had been cleared, massive redevelopment begun as a grand palm-lined boulevard (named the Embarcadero after the ill-fated elevated freeway) was built, squares and plazas were created and restored, and railroad lines were extended to run along it.
Sited precisely where the freeway once walled off San Francisco’s waterfront, the new five-acre Ferry Building Plaza provides needed public open space and access to the water’s edge. The plaza accommodates a transit stop as well as ferry boat passengers, and complements the historic Ferry Building. Built in 1891 with the ferry industry at its peak, the Building is now an upscale commercial office center and local food marketplace; this mix of uses brings activities and visitors to the plaza. Other features of the plaza include the colonnade of palm trees that mark the center of the city at San Francisco water’s edge, the streetcar service restored by citizen volunteers, and the decorative trolley sheds designed to protect waiting passengers from the sun. The programming of the Plaza shows how important it is to complement open space with a density and mix of uses—the error of past designs can be seen in Market Street, which reaches the Embarcadero one block past the Ferry Building, missing an incredible opportunity to lead San Francisco’s most important thoroughfare into a historic plaza.
Another destination along the Embarcadero boulevard is Rincon Park, a public space that echoes shapes of the harbor and establishes a new and lively destination on the San Francisco Bay. It is about one-half mile up from AT&T Park, the waterfront stadium built for the San Francisco Giants baseball team in the mid-1990s. Designed by Philadelphia’s Olin Partnership, the two-acre parcel uses grass, trees, stone walls, and public art to provide citizens with views of the Bay and Berkeley Hills. Its canted lawn-berms are designed to protect the park from traffic on the Embarcadero. A public space designed to attract people, Rincon Park also houses 20,000 square feet of commercial space to maintain a high level of activity. The $2 million price tag for the park’s grass and trees will be financed by GAP Inc., whose world headquarters front the park from across the Embarcadero. Part of the commercial revenue will be dedicated to managing and maintaining the open space.
There is also Crissy Field, a major public park and seashore beach that replaces an obsolete military field. The field is the new gateway to San Francisco, one-hundred acres of open space where the city meets the bay. It is an interesting example of environmental reclamation in which a defunct industrial use is replaced by public open space. Entirely man-made, Crissy Park comprises three landscape domains: an always-changing tidal basin, a rolling lawn, and a picnic area sheltered by newly-created dunes. Crissy Field gives visitors the opportunity to stroll the promenade, have a picnic, participate in programmed activities, or simply enjoy the views. Crissy Field was restored thanks to $34.4 million in private donations and community support, and was opened in May 2001. Part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the largest urban national park in the world, the Field attracts 2-4 million visitors per year, depending on San Fran’s quirky weather.
http://san-francisco-pictures.com/articles/embarcadero-center-sf.html
http://www.inetours.com/Pages/SFNbrhds/Embarcadero.html
http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/