Waterfront Development

Class Conscience: When Is Clean-Slate Planning Okay?

My classmate was up in front of everyone, flapping and flailing, pleading his case and getting shot down at every turn. It was a bit like watching a train wreck in slow motion. It was also kind of like looking in the mirror. I’m just more than halfway through a planning school studio project working on the beautiful (no, really) Lower Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. They’ve teamed up about 15 planner/urban designers with about 45 landscape architects, who, as I mentioned last time, are reasonably bonkers. That was about a month and a half ago; since then, I’ve begun to think maybe I’m the one needing a room with padded walls.

November 9, 2009 - Jeffrey Barg

A Call for More Docks on the Hudson

Cities along the Hudson River in New York are pushing plans to build more docks along the waterfront.

October 20, 2009 - The New York Times

Turning Infrastructure into Amenity

Jeffersonville, Indiana is proposing to turn a district with a bad flooding problem into a beautiful canal with a pedestrian promenade.

October 19, 2009 - The Architect's Newspaper

Public Space Starting Small On Philadelphia's Waterfront

A competition to redesign Philadelphia's Pier 11 represents a concentrated -- and viable -- effort to create quality public space along the city's waterfront, according to Philadelphia Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron.

June 28, 2009 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Is River Setback "An Illegal Taking"?

Philadelphia's City Council has approved two new measures that would preserve historic buildings along the Delaware River and require 100 ft. green setbacks. Some developers are protesting the ruling, saying it amounts to an illegal taking.

June 22, 2009 - Philadelphia Inquirer

A New Vision for Delaware Waterfront

The executive director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission says that the zoning "overlay" of the central Delaware waterfront will be replaced by a new master plan in 12 to 16 months.

June 5, 2009 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Debate Over How 'Smart' Waterfront Housing Plan Can Be

Plans to build a 12,000 home waterfront development on the San Francisco Bay have some environmentalists up in arms. But the developers claim the project will exemplify "smart growth".

May 14, 2009 - San Jose Mercury News

Hong Kong Sprawls Into the Ocean

One man's personal quest to save the beauty of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor from rampant development.

September 4, 2008 - The Christian Science Monitor

Hercules Backs 'New', 'Smart' Waterfront

Plans for a "new urbanist/smart growth" development on the waterfront of the San Francisco Bay Area town of Hercules has received unanimous approval from the city council, eliminating the need for inclusion on the November ballot.

July 28, 2008 - The Contra Costa Times

Tiny Monaco Using Stilts to Expand

The second-smallest country in the world (after the Vatican) has plans to expand its territory by building more land on stilts in an idea inspired by oil rigs.

June 16, 2008 - The Guardian

Lights Are Back On, But When Will NYC Buildings Be Fit For Occupation Again?

Although power has been restored to much of Lower Manhattan, tenants of many of the area's residential and commercial buildings face a long and uncertain recovery before they can return. What will be the long-term effects on waterfront development?

December 31, 1969 - The New York Times

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