Dozens of cities around the world are re-embracing their waterfronts
If Mamata Banerjee aims to turn Kolkata into London, she can start by observing that city. For decades the Thames’s abandoned dockyards lay ugly upon the waterfront. Most docks and piers were closed, so access to the river was limited.
With the 1990s boom, land grew more valuable. But luxury flats and offices do not a successful waterfront make. Citizen groups and the government assembled plans to make the river and its banks accessible for a variety of purposes from transport of goods and people to leisure, recreation and fitness, performance, historic and environmental conservation, retail, housing, green industries, and more.
Other cities have interpreted their waterfront needs in broadly similar ways.
Cardiff has since the mid-1990s turned its coal-exporting port into a vast waterfront development. There is an annual cultural festival or two, and 18 places to drink.
In summer 2002, the mayor of Paris felt sorry for Parisians who could not go to the seaside, so he brought the seaside to them. The annual Paris Plages (Paris Beaches) turns the Seine waterfront into pedestrian zones. In 2010, 1,357 tons of sand was used to simulate beaches, with deckchairs, palm trees, sports, a floating swimming pool... In 2007, 4 million people visited.
Recently, residents of Bandra in Mumbai have turned 5 km of uncared-for coastline into seaside paths, with public space and an annual festival. Although Marine Drive, Chowpatty and Apollo Bunder preceded it, Bandra has inspired residents of the Dadar-Prabhadevi seafront, too.
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Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project is a government-funded (Rs 1,100 crore estimate) operation. It has managed to clear 9 km of waterfront. Still in progress, it is a comprehensive effort, from slum rehabilitation to watersports.
Shanghai’s historic Bund fell into decrepitude, until the 1980s. This year the Bund has reopened after redevelopment. Now it offers green and pedestrian space, and pleasure cruises along the river.
Finally, the Gulf: Abu Dhabi has invested heavily in its museum-lined Corniche, for present buzz and future potential.