Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Excellence on the Waterfront Awards: New York City Big Waterfront Winner & The Confluence Project receives Top Honor

New York City received four Honor Awards in The Waterfront Center's 23 annual Excellence on the Waterfront Awards Program. The four - two built projects, a plan and a zoning ordinance amendment - were selected by an interdisciplinary jury - from 75 entries. Eleven awards were made in all for projects and plans. Buffalo in upstate New York also received an award.

New York City's Winners were:

Photo credit: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
  • The Port Authority Ferry Terminal at the World Financial Center, New York. Contract: Donald Fram AIA, chief architect, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, 2 Gateway Center, Newark, NJ 07012 Phone: 973/565-7690. E-mail: dfram@panynj.gov


Photo Credit: Barbara Wilks


Photo Credit: Alison Cartwright
  • West Harlem Piers Park, W. 129th to W. 133rd Sts. and 12th Ave., New York. Contract: Barbara Wilks, W Architecture and Landscape Architecture, 127 W. 25th St./12th floor, New York 10001. Phone: 212/981-3933. E-mail: bwilks@w-architecture.com

  • Waterfront Zoning T ext Amendment, Department of City Planning, New York. Contact Amanda M. Burden, commissioner, Department of City Planning, 22 Reade St./2W, New York 10007. Phone: 212-720-3320. E-mail: cgrossm@planning.nyc.gov

  • Brooklyn Bridge Park 2005 Master Plan: A Framework for Design, Brooklyn, NY Contact: Michael Van Valkenburgh, principal, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associations Inc., Landscape Architects PC, 16 Court St./12th floor, Brooklyn, NY 11241. Phone: 718/243-2044. E-mail: michael@mvvainc.com


Fish Cleaning Station, photo credit: The Confluence Project

Top Honor for 2009 was for the Confluence Project at seven historic sites along the Columbia River in Washington State and Oregon. Three of the projects are built and a fourth is to have its ground-breaking shortly. The artist Maya Lin, working with other artists and designers, is striving for public art projects that connect the natural world and the built environment, at sites rich with Native American history, as well as stopping points on the remarkable Lewis and Clark exploration over 200 years ago. Contacts: Jane Jacobsen, executive director, Confluence Project, 1701 Broadway/No. 144, Vancouver, WA 98663. Phone: 360/693-0123. E-mail: jane@confluenceproject.org. Johnpaul Jones, principal, Jones and Jones, Architects and Landscape Architects, 105 S. Main St./No. 300, Seattle, WA 98104-3437. Phone: 206/624-5720. E-mail: jpjones@jonesandjones.com



Aerial view of the Land Bridge, photo credit: The Confluence Project.


Bird Blind, photo credit: The Confluence Project.


Serving the Waterfront Center's 23rd Excellence on the Waterfront jury were
  • Mike Burke, jury chair, attorney, King Hershey PC and counsel, Port Authority of Kansas city, Kansas City, MO.
  • Fran Hegler, senior direction/development manager, AECOM, San Francisco, CA.
  • Jeff Shelden, senior coastal engineer, Moffatt and Nichol, Raleigh, NC.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Short News Stories No. 5

Excellent Sample Map
A walking map doesn't have to be big or complex to be effective. Take the 8.5-by-11 Walking the Waterfront map of Halifax & Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, with clear, hand-drawn maps of both city waterfronts. Sites are clearly numbered, one to 44, and range from a casino to open space to eating places and docks. A number of vessels make their home here, including deep sea fishing charter boats, a replica of a famous fishing schooner and a research ship of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which is based in Halifax. The map, prepared by the Waterfront Development Corporation Ltd., is simplicity itself, in two colors, folded into three easy-to-read panels whose title is "Your official cruising guide to the shops and sights, restaurants and museums on the wonderful waterfront." Contact the organization for a sample.

Waterfront Corruption
The FBI seems to have to known what it was doing in targeting city officials in Northern New Jersey with waterfront development projects. Most of the 44 arrests earlier this year were of officials taking bribes from agents posing as developers seeking project approvals. The complaints filed paint a picture of building and zoning departments where influence, connections and payoffs are used to enable developments to proceed smoothly. Otherwise the process is described as dysfunctional. Developers are said to budget for bribes. For a little light reading, try The Soprano State: New Jersey's Culture of Corruption by Bob Ingle and Sandy McClure (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008).
The Press of Atlantic City, Aug. 8, 2009.

New Treatment Plant Technology
In the city of Blaine, Washington, they are putting a new wastewater treatment plant in a waterfront park. Using new odor control technology plus smaller and quieter equipment enables the facilities to be front and center. In fact, when Blaine's plant opens in June 2010, it will house processing underground and have two structures on top: one for administration, the other for public park uses. The reclaimed wastewater will be used to water city land and a golf course. Funding in the form of grants and loans came from local, state and Federal sources. Brown and Caldwell of Seattle did the design of the 23,000 square-foot plant.
Engineering News Record, Oct. 5, 2009.

Bikers vs. Peds: Serious Business
The Battle of Brooklyn Bridge is on. The narrow walkway (remember the bridge dates to 1883) now tries to accommodate growing numbers of walkers and bikers plus more than a few tourists stopping to take pictures. One solution suggested is to make the bikers use the adjoining Manhattan Bridge, which has a secure bike lane. Problem: it doesn't tie well to downtown. Writing in the Sunday Opinion page of The New York Times, author Robert Sullivan, a Brooklyn biker, proposes taking bikes off the walkway in favor of a protected bike lane in the roadway. Separation is the solution being used on a downtown riverwalk under construction now in Des Moines, Iowa. the Center co-directors were given a tour recently by a representative of Principal Financial Services, the major funder, where there will be a pedestrian walk above on lovely blocks and a pathway below along the river itself intended by bikes, bladers and the like. A new pedestrian/bike bridge under construction will tie the paths together and whose graceful arch will be a new icon for the city.
The New York Times, Sept. 27, 2009.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Short News Stories No. 4

Big Cleanup
Thousands of volunteers took part in Coastal Cleanup Day in the San Francisco Bay area, collecting about 220,000 pounds of stuff in an early tally. Among the items picked from the shore: shopping carts, hubcaps, metal chairs and shingles. In Hayward, the haul included about 50 tires, fire extinguishers, buoys, shoes and thousands of balls of all kinds - tennis balls, basketballs and volley balls. At Candlestick Point Recreation Area, it was "microtrash" - bits of glass, plastic, metal and paper strewn about the shoreline.
San Francsco Chronicle, Sept. 20, 2009.

Urban Meadow in Georgetown
Above the Potomac River in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C. sits a rooftop garden on a utility substation. In plain view of a nearby condo on Water Street N.W., the meadow is a magnet for birds, including Mallard ducks, doves, sparrows and goldfinches. Its grasses change colors during the seasons. It is the project of the condo developer Anthony Lanier who wanted dwellers to have a pleasant view toward the Potomac. The green roof was designed by Washington landscape architects Oehme, van Sweden & Associates.
The Washington Post Magazine, Sept. 20, 2009.

Working Waterfront Preservation
A lobster family has placed a permanent easement on a pier in Tremont, Maine, the first under the state's Working Waterfront Access Program, designed to protect commercial fishing properties. The program is funded through the Land for Maine's Future, where property owners sell development rights to the state to preclude other uses such as residential development. This particular action occurred on Davis Wharf on Goose Cove, Mount Desert Island. A ceremony to mark the occasion was attended by over 150 lobstermen/women. The state program has $5 million in voter-approved bond money with which to acquir working waterfront facilities. According to the Island Institute, only 20 miles of commercial waterfront remain along Maine's coast. Center co-directors Ann Breen and Dick Rigby wrote a monograph in 1985 entitled: Caution: Working Waterfront: The Impact of Change on Marine Enterprises, which discussed commercial pressures threatening small marine businesses.
The Working Waterfront/Inter-Island News, Island Institute, September 2009.

The Battle for Southport
Plans by the North Carolina State Ports Authority to build an enormous container terminal on the Lower Cape Fear River in Southport have stirred fierce opposition. The ports authority has acquired 600 acres of waterfront land, for $30 million, and says its facility will create 16,500 jobs. To the 2,500 residents of the area forming No Port Southport, the project will permanently damage the area's ecosystem. The group, joined by the North Carolina Coastal Federation, says the river is inadequate to handle the vessels likely to be used, requiring dredgin, and the road system would have to be expanded through uninhabited areas. The area has 28 marinas and 2,500 slips that would be adversely affected, the opposition notes.
SailMagazine, September 2009.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Directors in Quad City Celebration

The Quad Cities are Bettendorf and Davenport, Iowa, and Moline and Rock Island, Illinois. Waterfront Center co-directors Ann Breen and Dick Rigby were special guests at the 25th anniversary celebration on Sept. 24th for River Action, Inc., a citizen's organization that has accomplished amazing feats ~ including a bridge lighting, flood wall blockage, retain the rain program and a Ride The River event on Father's Day. Ann gave the final toast to River Action's founder, Kathy Wine, and Dick introduced featured speaker Mayor Joseph Riley of Charleston, S.C. The organization has available a booklet about steps people can take to retain rain. While geared to saving the Mississippi River, it has universal applicability. Contact: email@riveraction.org. Kathy Ewing is a menber of the Center's Advisory Board.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Short News Stories No. 3

Advocacy Group Proposes Public Space vs. Viaduct
The battle in Seattle is no longer over whether to remove the Alaskan Way Viaduct that severs downtown from the central waterfront. An earthquake in 2001 settled that. The issue is whether a new tunneled roadway should replace it, as the governor plans at $4.2 billion, or a mix of alternatives including public transit and a surface road. The People's Waterfront Coalition, led by urban planner Cary Moon, wants the change the debate from how to replace the highway with how to make a great waterfront and how can Seattle become less car dependent. The group supports public transit and a surface waterfront street, not highway. Voters in 2007 were against the tunnel option and also opposed a replacement overhead roadway.
Next American City, Issue 22.


We're Fat!
Obesity -- that's clinical talk for big fat butts -- has doubled among adults in the U.S. in the last 20 years, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The annual cost is put at $117 billion (how do people figures these things out?) and fatness may account for as many as 300,000 deaths per year. Exercise is engaged in by only 25 percent of the population. The Trust for Public Land is leading the way in promoting urban parks, its "Parks for People" initiative that pushes for building public spaces where people live. TPL estimates that 33 percent of the public in large cities have no access to a park, playground or public space, along waterfront for instance. Newark, N.J., Baltimore and Los Angeles are among its target cities.
Land & People, Trust for Public Land, Spring 2004.

Old Factory Destroyed
It's a familiar but chilling story -- old factory on the river shuts, jobs lost, owners go bankrupt and the decision is made to tear down and not reuse. The case here is from Augusta, Maine, where the American Tissue mill, built in 1903, was the last operating paper factory until it shut in 2001. Its latest owner is serving time for fraud. And what was once a humming, living thing employing as many as 500 people is now demolished, its brick walls strewn about the site on the Kennebec River. There's now talk of a mixed-use development on the nearly one-mile site.
The New York Times, Aug. 10, 2009

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Seattle Conference Supportors

Urban Waterfronts 27
The Waterfront Center wishes to thank the following firms and organizations for their support.

Benefactors
Abel Bainnson Burz, LLP - New York, New York
EDAW/AECOM - San Francisco, California
JJR, LLC - Madison, Wisconsin
J.C. Macelroy - Piscataway, New Jersey
Moffatt & Nichol - Long Beach, California
RRM Design - Sausalito, California
Reid Middleton - Everett, Washington
Sasaki Associates - Watertown, Massachusetts
SF Marina Systems USA - Gloucester, Virginia
Tetratech - Irvine, California
Waterfront Center - Washington, DC

Supportors
AIA/Seattle - Seattle, Washington
J.A. Brennan Associates, LLC - Seattle, Washington
City of Seattle - Seattle, Washington
Bruce Dees & Associates - Tacoma, Washington
EDSA - Fort Lauderdale, Florida
GGLO - Seattle, Washington
Makers - Seattle, Washington
Miller/Hull Partnership - Seattle, Washington
Mithun - Seattle, Washington
Parks and Recreation, City of Seattle - Seattle, Washington
Read Wagoner, LLC - Seattle, Washington
SRG Partnership - Seattle, Washington
Urban Land Institute Seattle - Seattle, Washington
Wallace Roberts & Todd - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Walker Macy - Portland, Oregon

Advertisers
Argosy Cruises - Seattle, Washington
Beyer Blinder Belle - New York, New York
The Forks North Portage Partnership - Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Halcrow - New York, New York
Marriott Seattle Waterfront Hotel - Seattle, Washington
Port of Seattle - Seattle, Washington
Seattle Art Museum - Seattle, Washington
Bing Thom Architects, Inc. - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada


Information about this year's conference in Seattle, Washington can be found on our website: www.waterfrontcenter.org.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Recommended Book

Book on Governor's Island Issued

A lavishly illustrated hardback tracing the rich history of Governor's Island in New York Harbor has just been released by Syracuse University Press. Written by Ann L. Buttenwieser, founding member of the Waterfront Center and board member emeritius, the volume covers a history that dates to the 1700's when it was a British Fort to its more recent uses as a U.S. Army and Coast Guard base and now as an increasingly popular park. Its evolution is treated as a reflection of historic events in New York City and the larger world.

Specfications: 288 pages, 271 color illustrations, bibliography and index, 9 x 11 1/2, $60.00, ISBN 978-0-81560936-0. Web site: www.SyracuseUniversityPress.syr.edu. Order by phone 315/443-2597 or 1 800/365-8929.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Award Jury Meets

The Waterfront Center’s awards jury completed its deliberations in Cape May, N.J., on Saturday, July 29, picking 12 projects and plans from 74 entries. The range and caliber of the portfolios entered this year impressed the jury. Also recognized were four citizen volunteer efforts, to receive Clearwater Awards, and two students. The Clearwater Award is named for the citizen’s group working to clean up the Hudson River, spearheaded by Peteq Seeger. The winners will be announced during the Center’s annual conference, to be held in Seattle on October 22 to 24, 2009. The announcement, always a highlight of the annual meeting, is followed by a champagne reception honoring the winners (sponsored this year by EDAW/AECOM) and a gala dinner (optional) to be held at the Seattle Art Museum’s Sculpture Garden Pavilion. Serving on this year’s jury were:
• Mike Burke jury chair, attorney, King Hershey PC and counsel, Port Authority of Kansas City, Kansas City, Mo.
* Fran Hegler, senior director/development manager, EDAW/AECOM, San Francisco, Calif.
• Jeff Shelden, senior coastal engineer, Moffitt and Nichol, Raleigh, N.C.
• Harris Steinberg, executive director, Penn Praxis, the clinical arm of the School of Design, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Penn.
• Michel Trocme, partner, Urban Strategies Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Short News Stories No. 2

Waterfronts: Front Line on Climate Change
Waterfront Center Advisory Board Member Bonnie Harken makes the case in the August/September issue of Planning magazine that urban waterfronts are where the challenges posed by climate change should be tackled. Writing in the "Viewpoint" column, Harken notes coastal cities face rising sea levels. Already there is wetland loss, shore erosion and saltwater intrusion, among other issues. She makes the sensible case that urban planners can lead the way in synthesizing the different scales involved and the multiple disciplines that will have to be employed.
Planning, August/September 2009

Kids and Prairie Plants
The managers of the North Point Marina in Wintrhop Harbor, Ill., took time out from getting ready for the summer boating season to work with students on an Earth Day project. Students from nearby Waukegan planted a natural prairie garden, part of an effort by the state to get school kids involved in environmental projects. The state-owned marina is a component of a state park. The sixth graders transformed a mud pile into a beautiful garden and planned to visit this summer to see how it was faring. The marina managers took the occasion to talk about the importance of protecting the waters of Lake Michigan.
Marina Dock Age, July/August 2009

Retail Success
The pattern for North New Jersey waterfront redevelopment has been to have first-floor retail under residential towers. With the recession and lower retail sales across the country, this approach faces a challenge. Developers report, however, some sucesses in landing tenants, more than they had hoped. Toll Brothers is opening a second tower of a Maxwell Place complex in Hoboken with 367 units and has successed in filling three quarters of 35,000 square feet of ground floor space, while still looking for a restaurant, as one example. All are providers of services rather than goods, like banking, child-care, hair salon and massage service. Port Imperials, all two miles of Weehawken waterfront, plans an 80,000 square foot retail promenade spread among three apartment buildings. It is 80 percent leased. Who said there was a recession?
The New York Times


Hamilton Thinks Big

Hamilton, Ont., Canada is upgrading its wastewater treatment facility to the tune of $550 million. To take five to seven years, the "bioreactor" installation will be three times as big as any such facility in the world. It will contribute to a cleaner Lake Ontario harbor. CH2M Hill, with AECOM, is the project designer.
Engineering News Record, Aug. 10, 2009

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Short News Stories No. 1

To keep up with the dynamic world of the urban waterfront, you'll want to check our Waterfront Center blog. Every few days we'll post short news stories covering the full range of activity: recreational, residential, commercial, industrial, artistic, you name it. We'll always cite our sources so you can follow up. And we'll never insult your intelligence by pretending to rate the "best" and worst" waterfronts.

Bridge Design Contest.
The University of Akron is sponsoring a contest this fall for a pedestrian bridge joining two parts of its campus. The kicker is that the use of titanium is specified. The hope is that by showing the feasibility of titanium use, demand will rise and its high price will come down. Co-sponsor of the contest is the Defense Metals Technology Center of North Canton, Ohio, a Defense Department unit. The bridge will cross a heavily-used rail line.
Engineering News Record, Aug. 17, 2009

For The Birds
The Lake Erie wetlands are sources of food for migratory birds that each year make a 9,000-mile journey from the Arctic to South America. Shorebirds like yellowlegs and sandpipers pause in Northern Ohio to feed on the insects,, crustaceans and invertebrates that inhabit the wetlands, shorelines, fields and mudflats whose existence are vital to their survival. The Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is a favorite viewing spot. Others making the trek are dowitchers, plovers, snipe and killdeer.
Cleveland Plain Dealer, Aug. 10, 2009 (from H2O newsletter)

Who Watches Watchdog?
The New York State inspector general said in a recent report that Waterfront Commission for New York Harbor is as corrupt as the gangsters it was supposed to pursue. Instead, the state found, it employed the same tools of the mob on the docks: dividing spoils, helping cronies evade the law and thwarting security provisions. The commission, with an $11-million annual budget, went to court to block the report's release. Instead, nearly the entire executive staff was dismissed. Said the inspector general: "It was an utter disaster when we stepped in...a continuation of the old waterfront."
The New York Times, Aug. 12, 2009

Undaming the Dams
The 1950's and 1960's were the era of dam-building in the U.S. -- one went up every six minutes! To generate electricity, provide irrigation and to protect against floods, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Now, they're coming down, 430 so far since 1999, says American Rivers (www.americanrivers.org). Typical of the new era is the Sandy River east of Portland, Ore. Once blocked by the Marmot Dam, a hydroelectric project that created a two-mile long reservoir. Now kayackers and canoeists can enjoy the free-flowing river as it runs between Mount Hood and the Columbia River. The Marmot Dam came down in 2007.
The New York Times, Aug. 9, 2009

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Waterfronts Today

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Photo courtesy of Sasaki Associates


• "The River Common" Dedicated in Wilkes-Barre. A handsome public park and garden now line the downtown portion of the Susquehanna River where continuous flood walls would have been erected. During a Waterfront Center community planning workshop in Wilkes-Barre in 1999, townspeople became aware that in Augusta, Ga., the Army Corps of Engineers allowed a flood gate in that city's flood wall. The gate, kept open except during floods, allowed citizens access to the river, where a handsome public park was built. This inspired the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority to seek a similar approach. Two 60-foot gateways were established, with a levee wall walkway bridging each. The park was dedicated in June 19, 2009, part of the Wyoming Valley Levee Raising Project.

The Times Leader, June 20, 2009.

• Miami River/Working Waterfront Dispute. A classic clash of values along the Miami River – residential uses vs. working port – is headed to mediation in October. Triggering the fight was a decision by the Miami City Commission to change the river’s designation from “ Port of Miami River ” to “Miami River Element” in the city’s plan document. The Planning Advisory Board objected, as did the Miami River Marine Group, the industry/port trade association. If mediation fails, the case goes before an administrative judge. Changes in the city’s land use plan in 2007 allowed for large-scale residential development along the river. This clash was foretold in a chapter on the Miami River in “Caution: Working Waterfront, the Impact of Change on Marine Enterprises” written and published in 1985 by the Center’s co-directors, Ann Breen and Dick Rigby, available to members for $6.00, non-members $12.00.

www.miamitodaynews.com, July 22, 2009


This is also from our Summer 2009 newsletter found on our website.

Center News and Important Deadlines

Seattle Marriott Hotel on the Waterfront

Photo Courtesy of Marriott Hotel

This is from our Summer 2009 newsletter which can be found on our Web site: www.waterfrontcenter.org


• Conference Deadline: September 22. Register by this date to get a $100 savings on the conference fee! September 22 is also the deadline for a very special hotel rate at the Seattle Waterfront Marriott; register directly with the hotel at 1 800/455-8254 or 206/443-5000; be sure to mention the Urban Waterfronts 27 conference.

• Conference Sponsorship Opportunities. Deadline to be included as a supporter/advertiser in the conference Final Program is September 11.

• Book Offer Extended Indefinitely. A half-price book offer on all Waterfront Center publications for members only has been extended. Anyone joining the Center for annual dues of $100 is entitled to the special offer; check the Membership button on the Center's website: www.waterfrontcenter.org. And members will also soon to be listed as special "Friends of the Center" on the Center's website.

Our Mission Statement

This explains who we are, what we do and the principles we advocate. Note that these are not prescriptive and do not attempt to tell communities how to proceed. Waterfronts are too varied for such.

The Waterfront Center: “Champions of Waterfront Excellence.”

WATERFRONT CENTER VISION STATEMENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The full text of the Center’s Mission Statement is featured on the Center’s Web site under its own button on the home page, www.waterfrontcenter.org/Mission. It was prepared by a subcommittee of the Center’s Board of Advisors’ Executive Committee. This summary was prepared by the Center co-directors.

Our Vision. Enhancing, protecting and preserving our waterfronts, and recognizing those who work to make this possible, is the primary purpose of the Waterfront Center, a non-profit educational corporation founded in 1981.

Our Values. These are the principles we embrace. They are not a series of steps to be taken but rather attributes to be adapted to the uniqueness of each waterfront place. Every community must be true to itself, and it is in this spirit that these values are put forward to be employed as appropriate.

· Authenticity. Waterfront planning should embrace the unique, authentic features of each waterfront: its history, culture, uses including industrial and the working waterfront, visual characteristics and environmental qualities. Formulas are to be avoided. Each waterfront plan should reflect the essence of its special place. Education, we feel, is key to helping the public protect their waterfront resources. Waterfronts represent unparalleled opportunities for education and interpretation, including distinctive public art.

· Accessibility. We believe in the inherent public interest in waterfronts and have advocated for public accessibility to and along waterfronts since our inception. We also stress the importance of visual access. Public access from land to water and from water to land should be the guiding objective.

· Inclusiveness. Meaningful community participation on a continuous basis should be a hallmark of waterfront planning and development, from inception forward. The planning process should reflect the dynamism of the marketplace, economic feasibility, indigenous design approaches, historic preservation and sustainable development practices.

· Sustainability. We must honor and protect our natural waterfronts, and as well recognize that they are part of an interconnected watershed. We are the custodians of these vital resources.

· Adaptability. Waterfront redevelopment has the potential to contribute to the long-term viability of neighborhoods and larger urban areas. Its planning should be responsive, responsible and adaptive to changing circumstances. Long—range planning, looking forward 25 years or more, is desired; shortsighted action that can cause long-range damage is to be avoided.

Our Programs.

• Education. The Center has sponsored an annual international conference on urban waterfront planning, development and culture since 1983, the leading such event in the world. It is preceded by an intensive, all-day mobile workshop in the host city.

The Center makes illustrated presentations drawing from its unequalled collection of 25,000+ waterfront images, gathered since 1975.

Facilitation. The Center employs a unique community participatory planning process that dates to 1985. Spot consulting by the Center co-directors is also offered.

• Publications. The Center co-directors have written the two definitive hardcover illustrated books on urban waterfronts, one published by McGraw-Hill, the second by Thames & Hudson of London. The Center distributes an electronic newsletter including the popular feature “Waterfronts Today.”

Celebration. The Center conducts an international annual awards program entitled “Excellence on the Waterfront,” begun in 1987. A distinguished interdisciplinary jury selects Honor Award winners from submitted entries, presented at the annual conference. An illustrated summary publication of the winners is produced each year.

Contact us at: mail at waterfrontcenter dot org or wcm at snip dot net