Modern urban waterfronts should be seen as a place for communal gathering, a place of good health and of celebration. The modern waterfront can continue to feed us, literally and spiritually. Waterfront developments provide us with the opportunity to improve the water environment. To halt the process of degradation, to create the opportunity for nature at the water’s edge and to provide the opportunity for man to witness, understand and experience this transformation. In such contexts communities thrive. People come to live and enjoy the view. People gather and explore. They come for recreation, health and leisure.
Waterfronts are often rich in human memory, of past time, of communities and of sacred stories. Successful waterfront development draws on the genius loci of the place and provides a reflection of the past resulting in richness and authenticity often lacking in modern development. Through careful and diligent planning waterfront communities can celebrate and remember the sacred value of the water’s edge and all that it has provided for generations past.
