Urban Waterfront Research Articles

INVESTIGATING THE CHALLENGES FACED IN DESIGNING CULTURAL LANDSCAPE AT PANTAI LIDO URBAN WATERFRONT, JOHOR BAHRU, MALAYSIA

Pantai Lido of Johor Bahru has a diversity of cultures, beautiful landscapes, and unique nature along its waterfront. This diversity at one time, made Pantai Lido a tourist’s option for domestic as well as international visits. After more than fifty decades of being a landscape of magnificent landmark for Johor Bahru, Pantai Lido is now experienced alteration which has resulted in the de-territorialisation of its cultural landscape. This inevitably eroded the identity and symbolism of the place. Thus, the objective of this paper is to explore and investigated the challenges that faced in designing cultural landscape at Pantai Lido, to preserve Pantai Lido from the de-territorialisation of cultural landscape. To achieve the objectives of the paper, a qualitative research method using a case study approach has been conducted in order to investigated the challenges in designing cultural landscape at Pantai Lido, and Pantai Lido was the context for data collection. A total of 12 informants were involved in this study comprising of the local authorities. The data were primarily gathered through focus group discussions (in-depth, semi-structured interviews) participant observations and supported by relevant information from document analysis, and audio-visual materials. It is hoped that the findings of this study can assist the state government and the related parties in developing cultural landscape design strategies framework for the urban waterfront at Pantai Lido, and thus mitigate the de-territorialisation of the cultural landscape areas at the said location. The implications of this study are not only beneficial to assist in the planning of the cultural landscape at Pantai Lido, but can also be applied to other similar regions throughout Malaysia. The objective of this paper is to explore and investigated the challenges that faced in designing cultural landscape at Pantai Lido, to preserve Pantai Lido from the de-territorialisation of cultural landscape. Qualitative Research Method using a case study approach, and to increase understanding of the findings, the primary data has been gathered from Focus Group Discussion (In-depth, semi structured interview), participant observations and supported by relevant information from document analysis, and audio-visual materials.The findings thus presented, this section closes with a list of challenged that faced in designing cultural landscape at Pantai lido- that is based on all of the theme, for the sustenance of symbolism within a cultural landscape at Pantai Lido urban waterfront; these also work as a potential cultural landscape design strategy to mitigate the de-territorialisation of cultural landscape areas at the said location. The data information faced in designing the cultural landscape for the urban waterfront: could assist local authorities and related parties to take necessary actions to solve the challenges in designing the cultural landscape for the urban waterfront at Pantai Lido.

Planning positive energy districts in urban water fronts: Approach to La Marina de València, Spain

Cities consume two-thirds of the energy supply, and 70% of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions come from urban environments. Positive Energy Districts are innovative tools to achieve energy and climate neutrality in cities. Positive Energy Districts are regions or neighbourhoods with a positive annual energy balance, obtained mainly through energy efficiency and energy generation from renewables. Urban Waterfronts are extended areas close to the sea, which makes them suitable for several types of production with renewables, therefore seeming to be a suitable location to develop Positive Energy Districts. This paper proposes a method that combines strategic planning for project management and the procedure for energy audits to design the optimal district configuration. The study presents and analyses the case of La Marina de València, a district in a Mediterranean city. Three strategic scenarios, both technically feasible and with a positive energy balance, are presented. All the alternatives include PV and switching to light-emitting diode in lighting. The different strategies presented together with a sensitivity analysis facilitate the decision-making process in energy planning and establish a common pathway to achieve Positive Energy Districts in Urban Water Fronts. The results suggest that urban waterfronts are uniquely suited to achieve a positive annual energy balance, thus emerging as a crucial springboard to provide traction to the positive energy districts policy agenda.

Modernity and Leisure: The Construction of Florya Beach in Istanbul (1935-1960)

The seashore can be a place where political authorities seek to achieve social progress by offering modern performative spaces for leisure and recreational activities. After the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the display of healthy bodies became particularly important for making modernity visible, and for this reason parks, dance halls, sports facilities, and beaches were promoted to a wider audience for the display of bodies in motion. This article analyzes how Florya Beach in Istanbul was reconstructed as a modern urban area, through the beach’s representations in popular media and architectural projects from 1935 until 1960. The article traces the reshaping of a part of the urban waterfront of Istanbul through the everyday life of the city’s residents, representations of the beach, the myth created around Atatürk’s summer residence, and the modernist architecture that embodied the state’s aspirations to modernization and nation-state policies on the beach.

Stuck in experimentation: exploring practical experiences and challenges of using floating housing to climate-proof waterfront urban development in Sweden

With climate change already underway, cities are looking for ways to deal with its effects. To balance urban waterfront development and climate adaptation, floating housing is presented as a promising solution—however it has not been studied sufficiently. This paper explores floating housing as urban climate experimentation, targeting vision/motivation, practice and upscaling in a national context where support mechanisms and traditions are absent. Interviews with innovation entrepreneurs and municipal planners involved with planning and building floating districts show that, with one exception, the Swedish initiatives are at odds with the theoretical assumptions behind urban climate experimentation. Initiatives are neither challenge-led in terms of climate risk nor inclusive and community-based. Rather, the small-scale private entrepreneurs are pioneers in offering unique living on water as one-off innovations. While allowing experimentation, municipal planners are less convinced by the effectiveness and appropriateness of upscaling. Floating housing may contribute to local identity building and place marketing, but are riddled with implementation challenges regarding shoreline protection, privatization/accessibility, limited market interest and urban development fit. While the floating houses themselves withstand flooding, thus safeguarding individual house owners, they do not protect the land-based city with its vulnerable waterfront development patterns. Results thus suggest the limitation of floating houses in shifting development pathways and strengthening urban climate proofing.

Design Practices for Flood Resilience in Istanbul: Case of Kadiköy Waterfront

Extreme weather events, sea level rise and intensified tsunamis as causes of climate change are becoming major threats for coastal cities. Istanbul, one of the most populated built-up coastal cities in the world, is prone to urban, coastal, and riverine flooding according to studies. Spatial design measurements preparing the urban waterfronts for the consequences of hazardous flooding are adopted in several cities as part of their urban resilience strategies. This paper focuses on physical measurements to adapt Istanbul to the effects of coastal flooding that is neglected so far in urban agenda. In this regard, the paper aims to develop site specific spatial design proposals as possible measurements to increase Istanbul’s waterfronts capacity for an effective flood resilience approach in case of storm events and tsunami intensified through climate change. To achieve this, status analysis and spatial configuration of possible design measures for Istanbul waterfront in a representative study area at neighborhood scale are introduced. To answer how much the waterfronts are at risk and how spatially adaptive strategies can be implemented in the current situation following flood resilience approach, site specific spatial analysis and a strategic design framework are developed. Since a comprehensive district-based guideline for spatial adaptation is currently not embedded in the urban agenda of flood management in Istanbul, this study promotes preparation of multiple guidelines adopting contemporary design measures in flood management for the entire city’s waterfronts by proposing one for Kadiköy.

Nighttime as Experiences: The Influence of Perceived Value on Urban Waterfront Night Cruise Loyalty

Urban river tourism can benefit considerably from nighttime business; however, few studies have examined tourist loyalty in the context of urban waterfront night cruises (UWNCs). This study aims to investigate how perceived value influences UWNC loyalty by conducting a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis of 372 questionnaires collected from cruise patrons. This study reveals that the loyalty of nighttime tourists is influenced by seven experience variables: nighttime architecture, lighting, nighttime cruising, urban development and image, urban atmosphere, function, and emotion. Five different combinations of the seven variables were found to influence tourist loyalty at various levels. The findings of the present research will improve the general understanding of the urban river tourism experience and contribute to the literature on nighttime tourism, helping destination managers and policymakers with the design, management, and development of nighttime tourism.

Spatial Structure of The Leisure Zone In The Girsang Sipangan Bolon District Urban Waterfront

Girsang Sipangan Bolon is one of the sub-districts under the administration of Simalungun Regency whose territory is partly directly adjacent to the shores of Lake Toba. The development concept of a waterfront culture for sustainable tourism is an importhing to do in this area. Tourism development that only relies on scenic beauty of the landscape will have difficult time to sustain for the future when there is degradation on environmental quality and boredom of visitors to the scenery presented. Identification of the spatial structure of Girsang Sipangan Bolon, morphology and circulation of the waterfront area and the typical type of development of the waterfront area are the objectives to be sought in this paper by using observation and geographic imaging of the area, whether are supports the concept of waterfront culture. Lack of open space to develop waterfront cultural activities, the morphology of the coastal area is not well planned where buildings with dense masses and heights block the view, and the area is more characterized by a recretional waterfront that relies more on the private sector. These characteristics are expected to provide more understanding and consideration for future development to emphasizing the concept of waterfront culture as an attraction and improving the morphology and circulation of the area that support sustainable waterfront tourism

Assessment of the Mechanisms of Summer Thermal Environment of Waterfront Space in China’s Cold Regions

Water is an essential part of the urban ecosystem and plays a vital role in alleviating urban heat island (UHI) problems. The contribution toward UHI mitigation made by bodies of water needs to be ascertained to establish waterfront thermal environment construction standards. In this study, the thermal environment of the waterfront space of Tianjin in the cold regions of China was the research object. Through a survey including 141 valid questionnaires and the field measurement of four typical waterfront spaces in Tianjin, the thermal demand characteristics of recreational use for the waterfront environment and the influence of water on microclimate are discussed, supplemented by results from low-altitude infrared remote sensing technology, which was mainly used to obtain a wider range of infrared thermal images with higher accuracy. To improve the urban heat island effect and the quality of the ecological environment, this paper used outdoor thermal environment simulation software to quantitatively analyze the thermal environmental impact of outdoor public activity spaces around the representative urban body of water and proposes the optimization scheme of the waterfront space’s thermal environment. The results show that, based on the factors of water itself, the most economical water width was 70–80 m, and the cooling effect intensity of water had an essential correlation with the distance between the measured site and the water center. In terms of the environmental factors around the water, when the green lawn of the waterfront space was 12 m and the water shore’s geometric form was S-shaped, this could improve the cooling effect of water significantly. Waterfront activity spaces should focus on thermal comfort on the east and south water shores. It is expected that this study could provide practical implications and useful guidance for the planning and design of urban waterfront space in China’s cold regions.

Coupling mechanism of water and greenery on summer thermal environment of waterfront space in China's cold regions

Water and greenery space is an essential part of the urban ecosystem and plays a vital role in alleviating the urban heat island effect. Water and greenery differently affect the urban microclimate. After coupling the two factors, the quantitative human thermal environmental experience analysis needs to be revealed. This study investigated the thermal environment of the waterfront space with the greenery of Tianjin in the cold regions of China. Different types of microscale water were analyzed to evaluate their thermal environment in summer using subjective and objective analysis and model simulation. We concluded the coupling mechanism of waterfront greenery and thermal evaluation standard. The results show that water and greenery's coupling effect peaked at 14:00 and waterfront at 4–8 m. Conversely, the cooling effect was more significant at 3–6 m from the water's edge, where the location was suitable for construction as verified by the optimization model. The prerequisite of coupling mechanism was suitable green coverage rate and vegetation type, based on the comprehensive analysis of four cases. The objective effects of different waterfront distances on the thermal comfort of Heat Index (HI) and the subjective evaluation of Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) for people were quantified. This research provides a theoretical basis and data support for urban waterfront renewal in cold regions.

Olympic Waterfronts: An Evaluation of Wasted Opportunities and Lasting Legacies

Mega-events such as the Olympic Games are powerful tools for city-branding and urban development, carrying the ability to create lasting physical, political, social, and economic legacies. Waterfront redevelopment has become a primary mechanism for revitalizing urban spaces, especially through brownfield requalification, and the Olympics have not been indifferent to this trend. Several recent editions have engaged in the rehabilitation of urban waterfronts. To analyze common mistakes that may impair the quality of these interventions, we apply a revised version of a binary evaluation tool to nine such Olympic Waterfronts, starting with Barcelona 1992, assessing their contexts, budgets, programs, plans, and environmental integration. The results show that the Olympic Waterfront can drastically change the image of the city, greatly contributing to the perceived success of the event’s legacy and creating new urban centralities. However, the inadequate management in the planning, delivery and, especially, legacy stages of the event can compromise this “Olympic Effect”. The test application of the evaluation tool proved successful in the context of mega-event planning and post-event transformation. It could potentially be useful in informing present and future decision-making regarding waterfront regeneration projects by highlighting pressure-points that, if not addressed, may hinder the future success of the interventions.

"Yellow Fever Always Begins . . . Near the Water": Urban Epidemics, Spot Maps, and Early National Architectural Improvements

Drawing on urban and architectural history, material culture, and historical geography, this article offers a new way to conceptualize the public reception of theories about epidemic disease and the built environment in the early national period. It explores a genre of yellow fever pamphlet containing narrative text, architectural proposals, and spot maps that reinforced Americans' judgments about the kinds of people and places most prone to disease, and ultimately about the kinds of infrastructure they hoped to build in response. Pamphleteers identified waterfront districts and their lower-class residents as purveyors of disease. Over time, their writings did more than simply diagnose the relationship between poverty, illness, and infrastructure. They helped readers forge mental maps of these neighborhoods and their poorer occupants that shaped conversations at the municipal level about possible futures for city living. Following successive yellow fever outbreaks, Americans considered the urban waterfront and its poorer occupants as conduits for sickness, and therefore appropriate targets of infrastructural reform and displacement.

An Approach for the Evaluation of the Spatial Quality of Urban Waterfronts: The Case of Istanbul

An Approach for the Evaluation of the Spatial Quality of Urban Waterfronts: The Case of Istanbul

A review of international research on the transformation and development of urban waterfront space

A review of international research on the transformation and development of urban waterfront space

Spatial Structure of The Leisure Zone in The Pangururan District Urban Waterfront

Pangururan is a district in Samosir regency, north sumatera province, Indonesia. Pangururan also the capital city of samosir regency and pangururan district capital is Pasar Pangururan. In Indonesian population census 2020, Pangururan has 34.209 population. Samosir regency residents mostly Batak Toba tribe and some are Batak Angkola, Batak Simalungun, Batak Karo tribe and immigrant from Java, Minangkabau, and Nias that are mostly resides in the capital city. Residents of Pangururan commonly farming for living. And for the residents who lived near the shore of the lake are mostly fisherman. Now, Pangururan waterfront area is included in an area arrangement project called Waterfront City Pangururan (WCP). WCP is a part from Program Pembangunan Pariwisata Terintegrasi dan Berkelanjutan (P3TB) for Lake Toba destinantion of tourism and promoting Lake Toba as KSPN. There are many leisure zones in Pangururan District Urban Waterfront that changes the spatial structure of Pangururan. This research uses qualitative method. The aim of this research is to find identification from the effect of tourism toward pattern and spatial structure in Pangururan Waterfront Area is needed.

Air Pollution and Outdoor Recreation on Urban Trails: A Case Study of the Elizabeth River Trail, Norfolk

Poor air quality represents a significant health risk for individuals engaging in recreation activities outdoors in urban parks and trails. This study investigated temporal variability in particulate matter (PM) exposure along an urban waterfront trail. We also used recreation choice frameworks to examine the effects of visitors’ perceptions of air quality (AQ) and health benefits on trail use. Average air quality during the collection period was “good” (PM10) to “moderate” (PM2.5). We found that PM density was significantly higher (p < 0.001), though still in the “moderate” range, at 7–9 a.m., 11 a.m.–1 p.m., and 3–5 p.m., and on weekends. Visitors’ self-reported perceptions of health outcomes, but not air quality, significantly predicted trail use. Results suggest that these experiential factors may affect recreational choices depending on other factors, such as salience. Further research is merited to determine how experiential factors can be integrated with other theories of motivation to understand recreational decision-making.

Analyzing the Users’ Satisfaction Levels and Perceptions of the Dubai Water Canal for Future Waterfront Development in UAE

Dubai was developed from Khor Dubai and the city always focuses on the development of waterfront as a public space. The urban waterfront in Dubai is a highly visible public space for recreational activities but also as an urban landscape for placemaking, environmental pollution reduction, and transportation. The objective of this study is to explore the direction of future development of the Dubai Water Canal. By analyzing the characteristics and behavioural patterns of canal users using a post-occupancy evaluation survey, the study presents the management plan necessary to improve the facility. As a methodology, Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) with two-step cluster analysis was used with SPSS Statistics version 20.0. Dubai Water Canal users were classified into friend-based, family-based, and individual-based clusters to investigate the differences in satisfaction levels and perception between clusters. The survey included questions on accessibility, convenience of use, facility management status, safety, and landscape management. The result had shown that family-only parking, convenient pedestrian walkway, signage/distance marker, and pocket parks as green buffer zones are needed to increase the level of satisfaction. Factors to enhance users’ satisfaction comprised 1) efficient road system for light exercise, 2) efficient information signage, 3) convenient pedestrian roads with nighttime lighting system, 4) strict separation of pedestrians and cyclists, and 5) nature-friendly landscape and landscape improvement. This study intended to extract elements for future design and management of urban open space projects, similar to the Dubai Water Canal.

How Did Built Environment Affect Urban Vitality in Urban Waterfronts? A Case Study in Nanjing Reach of Yangtze River

The potential of urban waterfronts as vibrant urban spaces has become a focus of urban studies in recent years. However, few studies have examined the relationships between urban vitality and built environment characteristics in urban waterfronts. This study takes advantage of emerging urban big data and adopts hourly Baidu heat map (BHM) data as a proxy for portraying urban vitality along the Yangtze River in Nanjing. The impact of built environment on urban vitality in urban waterfronts is revealed with the ordinary least squares (OLS) and geographically weighted regression (GWR) models. The results show that (1) the distribution of urban vitality in urban waterfronts shows similar agglomeration characteristics on weekdays and weekends, and the identified vibrant cores tend to be the important city and town centers; (2) the building density has the strongest positive associations with urban vitality in urban waterfronts, while the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is negative; (3) the effects of the built environment on urban vitality in urban waterfronts have significant spatial variations. Our findings can provide meaningful guidance and implications for vitality-oriented urban waterfronts planning and redevelopment.

Engineering an Ecological Civilization Along Shanghai’s Main Waterfront and Coastline: Evaluating Ongoing Efforts to Construct an Urban Eco-Network

Recent ecological civilization policies make clear that China is willing to play a leading role in a sustainable green transition. But there are still discrepancies in definitions, appreciation and evaluation of ecological assets. This paper examines how Shanghai works on a sustainability transition, with a focus on its main urban waterfronts and coastline, in the context of an extremely high population concentration, world’s highest real estate values, and continuous urban development pressure. This paper will mobilize insights from the academic field of sustainability transitions to show how urban planning and design ambitions are translated into realities on the ground. In its latest Shanghai Master Plan (2017-2035), the city commits itself to set an example for other Chinese cities. Moreover, Shanghai’s city leaders want to inspire and push cities internationally to become more adaptable and resilient, both in the Global South and Global North. The spatially most radical action to realize this ambition is to create “a green and open eco-network” with 60% of Shanghai’s municipal territory to be used for ecological purposes, mostly wetlands. This paper will examine three urban planning and design projects that have key positions within this eco-network. On all three sites there are land-use conflicts, between urban development and ecological (re-)development. The first case is the recent transformation of no less than 120 km of former industrial dominated waterfront along the Huangpu River, of which half was completed between 2016 and 2021. The second case, Nanhui Coastal Wetland Reserve with adjacent Lingang New City; and the third case, Chongming Eco-Island, started both around the millennium and had a 2020 planning horizon. After learning lessons from their previous sustainable innovation journeys these latter two projects entered a new phase as part of the eco-network. The paper concludes with seven practical recommendations aimed to reduce discrepancies between expectations and their implementation in practice: 1) use clear definitions; 2) co-create a shared vision for the future; 3) stop building on vulnerable locations; 4) create conditions of social learning; 5) supervision needs to go beyond planning boundaries; 6) step beyond an anthropocentric approach; and 7) foster a more experimental approach.

Borrowed production: spatial processes of urban waterfront tourism in Guangzhou

ABSTRACT Urban waterfronts are time-space constructions encompassing various social relationships and functions. They become tourism spaces in the context of particular interactions among multiple stakeholders, including local governments and tourism enterprises. Yet the processes for and approaches to transforming urban waterfronts into tourism spaces remain under-researched. Based on the lens of Lefebvre’s space production theory, this research explores how tourism spaces are generated in the waterfront area of Pearl River in Guangzhou that originally featured no tourism attributes. The city government has conceived the shifting representations of space for the Pearl River waterfront over time including commercial space, scenery space, and a showcase of a prosperous city image, but neglected tourism development. Cruise companies are the key entity facilitating the spatial processes of the Pearl River Tour. The approach to space production presents itself as a means of ‘borrowed production,’ where cruise companies produce tourism spaces by embedding themselves into government plans and flexibly utilizing public projects that significantly improve waterfront infrastructure and views. This study contributes to the literature on tourism space production by clarifying the negotiating relationship between urban politics and tourism enterprises.

Geotechnics and Urban Waterfront Resiliency — Adapting to the Dynamics of Tides, Tremors, and Transportation

Geotechnics and Urban Waterfront Resiliency — Adapting to the Dynamics of Tides, Tremors, and Transportation