Dead in the water?
Modern urban planning has found solutions to these problems, however, and many waterfronts around the world have been revitalized, becoming vibrant residential and commercial districts. The US city of Cleveland is a sterling example - its CuyahogaRiver area notoriously caught fire in 1969, helping to earn Cleveland the dubious moniker "the mistake on the lake."
Today the waterfront area in Cleveland, which is a sister-city to Poland's Gdańsk, has been revitalized and is no longer a cause of embarrassment. There is hope, then, for Poland's considerably less polluted waterfront areas, especially as investors and developers look for opportunities in the country.
Global trend
The idea of waterfront revitalization has been or is currently being successfully implemented in a large number of American and European cities - aside from the aforementioned Cleveland, Boston, Baltimore, Detroit, San Francisco, New York, London, Amsterdam and Hamburg are some of the best-known examples. Amsterdam's once decaying Eastern Docklands district, for instance, has been turned into an inner-city residential area of around 18,000 inhabitants. The neighborhood's old warehouses have been given new life as residential lofts or office space.
Hamburg's HafenCity area, for its part, encompasses 155 ha of water and land. When its revitalization plan is completed - in 20 years or so - it is expected to boast its own city center with hotel, shopping, cultural and recreation facilities, providing approximately 5,500 apartments and 40,000 jobs. The first buildings in the project have already been completed, and in 2011 the area is expected to see the delivery of the landmark Elbe Philharmonic Hall, which is being constructed on top of an historic building. A subway connecting the area with Hamburg's downtown will also be built.
Post-industrial plans
Although major waterfront revitalization projects have yet to officially launch in Poland, the idea has gained ground here, so to speak. Several cities - including Gdańsk and Warsaw - are expected to launch imposing waterfront schemes. In July, the City of Gdańsk and the Danish investment group Baltic Property Trust (BPT), owner of a part of the former Gdańsk Shipyard premises, concluded an agreement to co-finance the construction of a street that will become the transportation axis of a huge waterfront revitalization project called Młode Miasto (YoungCity).
"This agreement is an important milestone in our joint vision with the City of Gdańsk to bring the YoungCity to life. With the central infrastructure in place, we can continue to develop the area into a vibrant new city district. This will not only be of great benefit to future investors but also to the citizens of Gdańsk," said Tomasz Tromer, Baltic Property Trust's country director for Poland, in an announcement to the press.
The YoungCity scheme - the largest waterfront revitalization project on the Baltic Sea, according to BPT - will include renovation of both existing historic buildings and construction of new structures, including three skyscrapers and a large retail and entertainment complex, that will house residential, hotel, office and retail space. The new district will cover 100 ha of land, host approximately 4,000 residential units and provide some 15,000 jobs. The first buildings in the YoungCity project are expected to be delivered in 2012.
Capital challenges
The problem of waterfront revitalization is also likely to command urban planners' attention in Warsaw, where the lack of integration of waterways into the urban landscape is clearly evident. The city is widely seen as having turned its back on the VistulaRiver as it has evolved. In consequence, the river effectively divides the capital into two unevenly developing parts, leading to serious transportation problems and the decline of waterfront areas.
This situation will hopefully change in the near future, for both architectural and purely economic reasons. The Warsaw stretch of the Vistula River features, uniquely for a European capital, undeveloped river banks which, some argue, are of enormous environmental value and need to be preserved in their current state.
The stretch also offers some attractive opportunities for real estate and infrastructural investments, however. A number of new projects meant to enhance the waterfront and attract people to the river have already been started in Warsaw's Powiśle district, where construction on the Copernicus Science Centre is now underway, for example.
The next waterfront areas which could be developed include the neglected Żerański and Praski ports, the latter of which is located in the central Praga Północ district and could potentially host high-rise architecture. Work on a local spatial development plan for the Port Praski area is now underway and the first new investments are expected to be launched there before the Euro 2012 soccer championships.
Forging partnerships
A revitalization study has already been prepared for the ŻerańskiCanal area in Warsaw's Białołęka district. The neighborhood has recently witnessed a surge in residential development and the local authorities now want to take advantage of private investors' presence in the area to launch a private-public initiative meant to revitalize the canal.
"The project will require funds but we will be able to obtain them in cooperation with firms that are investing in Białołęka," said Jacek Kaznowski, head of the district's authorities.
Dom Development, a Warsaw-based residential developer which is currently developing a number of projects in the district - including the Miasteczko Regaty scheme, located on the very banks of the ŻerańskiCanal - is cooperating with the district authorities to construct piers and harbors along the canal. Work will also be done to alter the canal's banks and bed to improve navigability and enable a water-transportation system. Dom Development has already spent its own funds on the preparation of a preliminary revitalization design and the firm will probably allocate further money for the project.
"We are offering our help and advice. Perhaps we will be able to find some additional money too," said Jarosław Szanajca, president of the board of Dom Development.
The ŻerańskiCanal revitalization plan, which will cost an estimated zł.5 million, will improve the quality of life in the traffic-jam-stricken district by providing an alternative means of public transportation. A boat would navigate both the canal and the VistulaRiver and its stops would be located at places ensuring convenient transfers to buses and trams. Similar schemes have been successfully implemented in cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Göteborg and Copenhagen.
"The creation of the first vessel operating within the public transportation network is one of the most interesting initiatives in Warsaw. The idea fits perfectly with the whole range of activities aimed at full exploitation of ŻerańskiCanal and VistulaRiver assets," said Kaznowski.
