Waterfront Development

The Power of Urban Waterfronts
Humans' love of water makes waterways a particularly attractive urban amenity. Why did so many American cities let theirs languish?

River Scenes: How Rivers Contribute to More Vibrant Urban Communities
The role of rivers in urban areas shifted in recent years from production to consumption. Now, access to a river's waterfront has become a highly valued amenity within cities.

Walkable Waterfront Takes Shape on the Schuylkill River Near Philadelphia
The Pencoyd Landing development is focused on providing access to pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users in the neighborhood of Lower Merion Township, across the Schuylkill River from Philadelphia.

Brooklyn Waterfront Development Unveils Revised Design
The massive River Ring Waterfront Master Plan includes two towers containing 1,050 residential units, a three-acre beach, and 5,000 square feet of community kiosks.

Opinion: Wealthy Residents Are Opposing Brooklyn Development to Protect Their Own Interests
Residents are arguing that a Williamsburg development would negatively affect the neighborhood. But it’s a grassroots effort to protect the status quo in a neighborhood where gentrification benefited them.

Boston’s Seaport District, Where Building Started Before Flood Preparation
The Boston waterfront has been booming, but the area is extremely vulnerable to climate change and rising sea levels. Measures to address those risks have come just recently.

Proposal for the Future of New York's Governors Island
The island's 40-acre park is a recreational destination, but waterfront advocates would like to see more use of Governor Island's shoreline and maritime infrastructure.
2011 Master Plan for the Central Delaware Cut Philadelphia's Waterfront Short
Waterfront views and large parcels of vacant land should be a good urban revitalization in a growing city like Philadelphia, but the Central Delaware waterfront has fallen short of expectations.

Master Plan Strives for a 'Seamless' Chattahoochee River for the Atlanta Region
A comprehensive study to revitalize the Atlanta regional waterfront, dubbed the Chattahoochee RiverLands project, is now underway.
Riverfront Trail Takes Shape in Atlanta
Open space and mixed-use developments could make the Chattahoochee River, where it runs along the border of Atlanta, more accessible. A proposed trail along the river took a tangible step forward recently.

Lake Erie Town Hopes Waterfront Trail Will 'Put it on the Map'
According to Next City, "Euclid is doing what many Great Lakes cities thought would never be possible."

Makeover Revealed for Galveston's Popular Stewart Beach
The Galveston Park Board of Trustees is looking to add some bells and whistles to an already popular destination.

How One Lake Erie Town Got Free Waterfront Property for Public Use
Clear communication and a fair trade let Euclid, Ohio begin to rethink its lakefront—and its future.

Trial Over San Francisco Waterfront Development Height Limits Begins
The State Lands Commission filed suit shortly after San Francisco voters approved Prop. B in June 2014, requiring waterfront developments exceeding height limits to obtain voter approval rather than go through the Planning Commission process.
Developers Allege Conspiracy to Thwart Waterfront Development in New Jersey
A lawsuit claims that the town of Edgewater and its most prolific developer worked together to defeat a proposal for yet another high-rise development with views of Manhattan

East River Ferry Service Is Transforming America's First Suburbs
Once again, the ferry is remaking the Brooklyn waterfront. One hundred years after making Brooklyn Heights the nation's original suburb, it's spawning new developments along the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront. And the fare? Same as a subway ride.
Who Opposes New York's BQX Streetcar? Not Who You Think
Brooklyn and Queens need better transit, but activists say this waterfront "luxury trolley" is not the way to get it.

New Orleans Closes Gap in Historic Riverfront Park Plan
New Orleans could create the largest stretch of public riverfront in the U.S., thanks to a public land swap.

EPA Launches Long-Awaited Cleanup of Gowanus Canal
Gowanus Creek was channelized in the 1800s and has been accumulating sludge ever since.

Proposed Density Causes 'Chaos' at the Newark City Council Hearing
A suite of zoning changes that would increase building heights and density along the Passaic River in Newark, New Jersey, provoked a chaotic council hearing that devolved into shouting and the removal of residents from the council chambers.
Pagination
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City of Bakersfield
Standridge Inc.
City of Brookings
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service