WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT

Waterfront and its relationship to the city in the present Indian context

Cities seek a waterfront that is a place of public enjoyment. They want a waterfront where there is ample
visual and physical public access - all day, all year - to both the water and the land. Cities also want a
waterfront that serves more than one purpose: they want it to be a place to work and to live, as well as a
place to play. In other words, they want a place that contributes to the quality of life in all of its aspects -
economic, social, and cultural. -Remaking the Urban Waterfront, the Urban Land Institute

Civilizations have been established along waterways, river valleys and banks, watersheds, oceanfront, etc.
throughout history. Built environments can be oriented towards or away from water, and their components
built around a water body or along waterways, or even designed to withstand seasonal flooding events. At
the same time, the natural edge, or the boundary where water meets land - the waterfront is altered by human
interventions.

These interventions at the natural edge can be seen in diverse ways:

 as industrial waterfronts;
 as waterfronts designed to be public spaces with entertainment centers, sports arenas, etc.; and
 as preserved ecosystems like wetland habitats, lagoons, preserved beaches and deltas.

Collins Essential English Dictionary defines the waterfront as the area of a town or city next to an area of
water, such as a harbor or dockyard. The Urban Land Institute refers to an urban waterfront as the water’s
edge in cities and towns of all sizes. The water body may be a river, lake, ocean, bay, creek or canal,
including manmade.

Aim of the study would be To understand the nature and functionality of public open spaces on the
waterfront of a city and the planning approach for them, as many waterfront sites have the potential to be
converted from underutilized land to vibrant urban waterfront neighborhoods

Research is primarily aimed at understanding the nature and functionality of the public open spaces on the
waterfront of a city and the planning approach for them.

Objectives emerged in order to fulfill the aim of the research are :

 Study of Edge conditions of the waterfront : physical accessibility, visual and interpretive
accessibility and the built form or spaces along the waterfront and response of people
 To recognize characteristics that contribute in making the waterfronts vibrant
 Nature and functionality of public open spaces at 2 levels : Macro - whole waterfront, Micro - public
open spaces

References
1) Zhang Fang - Strategies and Tectics of Integrating Water with City in the Urbanization of Jiangnan
Region. Suzhou University of Science and Technology
2) Dr. - Reyhan Yıldıza - Sustainable urban design guidelines for waterfront developments (2015) 2nd
International Sustainable Building Symposium
3) H Dandekar - 2013 Mumbai Port and City: Planning for Symbiosis
4) S. Shamsuddin, N. S. Abdul Latip & A. B. Sulaiman - Waterfront regeneration as a sustainable
approach to city development in Malaysia.

5) Han Meyer - City and Port: Urban Planning as a Cultural Venture in London, Barcelona, New York,
and Rotterdam: changing relations between public urban space
and large-scale infrastructure.
6) City of Brantford : Waterfront Master Plan
7) Remarking the Urban Waterfront. Washington, D.C.; ULI-the Urban Land Institute, 2004.
8) Mumbai Eastern Waterfront Plan
9) Angelina V. Butler - Successful Riverfront Development 2001
10) Diyun Hou - Urban Waterfront Landscape Planning
11) Lindsya John Colin - Planning principles for the Port City Interface. 1989
12) Waterfronts open spaces and interfaces of edge environments