A perspective on urban waterfront redevelopment in the Pacific Rim

Once thriving Pacific Rim urban waterfronts are now abandoned, their functions left obsolete by technological changes and industrial shifts. Formerly the economic heartbeat of the city, these properties again have the potential to revitalize the economies of cities and to solve 20th century social problems. Urban waterfronts are being redeveloped to address not only local and regional problems but to serve national interests as well. The process of achieving an appropriate balance of land uses to attain these goals is costly, complex and controversial. The purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the process of waterfront development in the Pacific Rim. The objectives are: (1) to examine the economic, technological, social and political forces that shaped the Pacific Rim urban waterfront; (2) to evaluate the public policies, goals and objectives, and the effectiveness of the planning process, management structure, and development strategies used to achieve these objectives and goals; (3) to examine the effectiveness of involving the community in the planning process; and, (4) to evaluate the management structure and planning process. This study was conducted through an extensive literature review; site visits to Sydney, Brisbane, Newcastle, San Francisco and Vancouver; personal interviews; a comprehensive analysis of planning and development documentation, government publications, and articles in newspapers, professional magazines, journals and marketing brochures. The primary conclusions of this study are: (1) community involvement in the planning process at the earliest possible stages is vital; (2) the public planning and approval process is protracted, cumbersome, expensive, inflexible and inefficient; (3) the planning department must take control and assume the leadership role in the process; (4) there are four fundamental land use components to all urban waterfront development: commercial and retail, residential, parks and open space, cultural and community benefits; (5) the three most critical requirements of urban waterfront development are public access, open space and housing; (6) affordable and social housing is a key ingredient; (7) the trend for financing community amenities and public infrastructure is to have the developer pay; (8) the unique character and heritage of the waterfront needs to be examined before making decisions to remove waterfront structures; and (9) development goals and objectives must be established through a collaborative planning process to reflect the community needs. Otherwise the project will fail.Applied Science, Faculty ofCommunity and Regional Planning (SCARP), School ofGraduat