Waterfront Ecology: Two waterfront design case studies in Auckland N.Z. and Furong New Town, P.R. China.

Abstract

The contemporary waterfront, a real estate invention of 1970s rust belt Baltimore has proved to be a peculiarly resilient urban trope. The transformation of an industrial waterfront into a consumerist landscape follows a well-worn path that has been duplicated around the world. However this design paradigm cannot always suppress the industrial past. Contaminated soils from industrial poisoning and the discharge of contaminated stormwater from the surrounding catchment are just two of the serious environmental problems that many waterfronts must contend with. Is it possible to foreground the environmental threats and the necessary remediatory regimes as the start of a new waterfront design methodology? The author discussed the possibility of this idea by presenting two waterfront case studies, designed by the author, in Auckland New Zealand and in Furong New Town, Guangdong province, PR China.