Landscape Architects Network

10 Cities That Are Reinventing The

Relationship With Their Rivers
Posted by Yuliya Georgieva, Writer on Aug 25, 2015 in Environment
Posts, Landscape architecture Posts, Riverside

As technology and infrastructure improved, rivers became less and less

important and more and more forgotten about. We look at 10 cities
reconnecting with their rivers.
We are living in an era in which for the first time since the industrial revolution we are
witnessing a complete shift in the way the relationship between the city and nature is
represented in our cities. Architects, planners, landscape designers, artist, politicians
and society are getting together to find ways to reintegrate nature into the cities
through their often forgotten rivers.

Some are pushing away infrastructure or rediscovering abandoned industrial

riverside heritage to reintroduce nature and increase the quality of life of the
surrounding areas. Other are taking it to a completely new level thinking of a
resilient future relationship with their rivers due to the present climate change impact.
We have selected 10 cities that found a way to improve their quality of life and
reintroduce nature back into the heart of the city through reinventing the relationship
to their rivers.

Korea-Seoul-Cheonggyecheon-2008-01 by stari4ek originally posted to Flickr as fest2-01. Licensed under CC BY-SA

2.0 via Commons

10 Cities That Are Reinventing The Relationship With

Their Rivers
10. Seoul, South Korea Cheonggyecheon River Project by
SeoAhn Total Landscape, completed in 2005
Before becoming a major public gathering place for the people of Seul in 2005, the
Cheongycheon River was a highly polluted covered wastewater canal surrounded by
elevated and at grade infrastructure dividing the city. The redevelopment of over
11km of the river canal and the destruction of the surrounding infrastructure has not
only allowed rediscovering the qualities of the river but also to reinvent the way
people relate to it.
WATCH: Cheonggyecheon River in South Korea Best restored river in the world,
possibly
The intervention transformed the whole urban experience into a pedestrian friendly,
river experience full of activities. The project was designed to address the different

levels of the river throughout monsoon season and the rest of the year but is also
seen a symbol of the future unification of North and South Korea.

9. Ljubljana, Slovenia, Ljubljanica river regeneration project,

by BB arhitekti, Atelier arhitekti, Urbi, Atelje Vozli, Dans
arhitekti, Trije arhitekti and Boris Podrecca. , completed in
2011
At the beginning of the 20th century, the banks of Ljubljanica River started decaying
due to aging infrastructure and the construction of car purposed areas. The river
flows directly through the old city center and the deprivation started having a serious
negative influence on its vitality.

Photo Credit: Pavilion at the Ljubljanica Embankment, by BB Arhitekti by Saa Pani

Realizing the risk of urban deprivation due to the low quality and inaccessibility to the
river, the city council decided to invest 20 million euros in the redevelopment of a
central portion of Ljubljanica River and recreate its forgotten benefits on the citys
quality of life. The result is a revived city center, additional public spaces by the river
and reversing the tendency of urban sprawl evoked by the undermining of the natural
qualities the river brings to the city.

8. Madrid, Spain, Manzanares river, RIO Madrid project by

West 8, completed 2011
Before the completion of the West 8s project in 2011 the Manzanares river was
enveloped on both its banks by high-speed roads. Access to the river was impossible
and its valuable recreation qualities buried for the sake of the car. RIO Madrid
consisted of drastic measures to bring the river back to the city.

Rio Madrid by West 8. Municipality Madrid

The project cost skyrocketed at 280 million euros to bury the highway and create a
stretch of public spaces, parks and bridges to give a new face to the river and
recreate the link with the city. It has successfully proven to have increased the quality
of life in all surrounding neighborhoods and become a major attraction public space
for everyone in Madrid.

7. Paris the transformation of the Seine river banks

Berges de seine
Paris is one of the worlds densest cities, with an enormous protected by UNESCO
World Heritage Site along the river Seine. Its riverbanks became an automobile
corridor in the 60s when its right banks became exclusively reserved for cars. And it
wasnt until 2001 that the city authorities decided to introduce a temporary way to

bring back Parisians to the river where in the past activities flourished and people
lived with the river.

Berges de Seine, Paris, France, by Franklin Azzi Architecture. FRANKLIN AZZI ARCHITECTURE

The initiative is called Paris plages and consists of closing sections of the lanes
running along the river and transforms them into vital public spaces for a month. The
success of this annually reoccurring project has pushed through the opposition and in
2012 the city closed large parts of the dedicated to cars banks and transformed them
into permanent public spaces that are changing the relationship of Parisians to their
river and increasing the value this world heritage site.

6. Tanghe River, Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, China,

The Red Ribbon Park by Turenscape, completed in 2008
In the case of this project, the river banks werent transformed from the industrial
history but rather saved from the fast-growing urban development and given a new
life with very little interventions. The Red ribbon park creation came just on time to
handle the growing need for public space and encroaching urban development.

The Red Ribbon Park. Credit: Turenscape

Before its transformation, it was a rich natural environment which was though
inaccessible and dangerous to be used for recreation activities. It was taken over as
a trash dump by the adjacent beach town and unsecure due to the shantytown
spread.
The major design element the red ribbon runs through the whole park. It was
conceived to integrate lighting, seating and boardwalk as the design team was
aiming at preserving the natural habitats while at the same time create opportunities
for recreational activities.

The Red Ribbon Park. Credit: Turenscape

Since its completion in 2008 the surroundings of the park have urbanized and the
population has higher demands for the maintenance of quality of the natural
environment. The Red Ribbon Park responds to both the demands of nature and the
public giving a place for them to interact safely.

5. Lyon, France Rhone river redevelopment project, by In

Situ Architectes Paysagistes, completed 2007
Rhone Rivers history is similar to Bordeauxs Garonne River, ruled by the automobile
and port industry in the past. In 2003, the city council launched a competition
searching to create a place along the river that brings people closer to nature and
relate to the river while being a meeting place offering a variety of activities. In situ
Architectes Paysagistes developed the winning proposal for the redevelopment of
5km of parking spaces and high-speed lanes into a riverfront landscape integrating a
variety of activities all along.

The Lyon River Bank. Credit: IN SITU Architectes Paysagistes.

During the design process, a major input was taken from the community participation
to assure the final result responds to all needs of the city. Now it offers fishing points,
bike rentals, relaxation points, public spaces, a major element the steps terrace at
the Guillotire bridge as the entrance to the old city center.

The Lyon River Bank. Credit: IN SITU Architectes Paysagistes.

Parking and cars are banned from site allowing only cycling and walking as the
stretch is also a part of the European cycle path running from Geneva Lake to the
Mediterranean coast. The project was completed in 2007 and immediately became a
preferred place for Lyons inhabitants linking the city to the river and creating a new
relationship with the Rhone.

4. Bordeaux, France restoration of the left banks of the

Garonne river by Michel Courajoud, completed in 2009
As many of the listed cities, Bordeauxs Garonne river banks were previously devoted
to industry. On the left riverbank of the Garonne River in the 1700s, the Port de la
Lune was located together with a stretch of 4.5 km of adjacent industry along the
river right next to the city center. At the beginning of the 20th century, the industrial
activities were abandoned and taken over by parking spots.
By the year 2005 these ex-industrial areas had no sense of space or meaning. That
is when the city saw the potential of transforming it into a vital public space to invite
the river back to the city and the people back to the river. In the core of the project
was first the creation of a tramway in order to leave more space for pedestrians along
the river. Once that was achieved the Major of Bordeaux wanted to create a
connection from the river to the adjacent neighborhoods and the opposite banks of
the river.
He chose the proposals of Michel Courajoud whose aim was to keep the sense of
port in a new urban reality achieved by preserving the elements of the old port into
the design. With the beginning of the clearance of the area for the construction works
people instantly started reaching to the river as they felt naturally drawn to
water says Courajoud. The most famous feature of the project is the water mirror
which is the largest reflecting pool in the world. Completed in 2009 these new public
spaces have increased the quality of life and provided a completely new urban
experience one close to the river.

3. Moscow, Russia Moskva riverfront regeneration project

by Project Meganom consortium 2015
In the search to provide a better quality of life, Moscow starts following the example
of other cities rediscovering the added value of the river as part of citys public
spaces. The first step towards reintroducing the river as a public space was taken
with a 1 km transformation. The stretch of parking and traffic lanes were substituted
by a pedestrian friendly riverside boardwalk with inviting urban furniture, an alley of

painters, fountains, an outdoor performance stage, and activities designed for each
season.
The next step towards bringing Moscows life to the river has been taken with the
winner project in the international competition 2015. Project Meganom consortium
proposed a program for the regeneration of the whole river in Greater Moscow in
order to create the green backbone for the future of the capital. The project consists
in the creation of public spaces along the river, developing tourism and water
transportation through the location of ports linking to the neighborhoods.
WATCH: A planning and design overview of Moskva riverfront regeneration project
There is also an idea to naturalize certain sections of the rivers. According to
architect Alfonso Vergara- a member of the jury if the project is successfully
realized Moscow can be a referent for other megacities in the world.

2. Singapore, Kallang River Bishan Park by Atelier Dreiseitl,

completed in 2012
The project to transform the Kallang river park emerged from the necessity to find
larger flood capacity of the canalized Kallang River but also from the initiative of the
city to enrich the drainage functions of the canals. The project is part of ABC water
coming from Active, Beautiful, Clean waters aiming to create vibrant community
gathering spaces accommodating the drainage functions of the river at the same
time.

Bishan Park. Photo courtesy of Atelier Dreiseitl.

The 2.7km canal was removed to leave space for the naturally meandering river
allowing space for its flood capacity to be naturally accommodated while providing
access to the river during all of its level changes. From the canals destruction, a
lookout hill was built to serve as a viewpoint to the newly invited nature. The result is
a complete makeover of the way people can relate to the water. It bonded the
previously separated communities through the numerous activities the park provides
today.

1. New York, the Hudson river estuary Rebuild by Design,

the Dryline (BIG U), by BIG, in construction
The reason for New Yorks need to rethink the relationship with the Hudson River
estuary isnt only the need for public spaces and proximity to the water but the
climate change effects that were severely felt due to Hurricane Sandy. BIGs design
team won the 2014 international competition in search of a resilient solution to protect
New York from the rising risks of floods due to climate change.
Their proposal is an amazing combination of the mentioned above projects but with
an upgrade flood protection. Their solution incorporates a 12km social
infrastructure to create space for activities and public spaces close to the river which
is designed to double as a flood protection wall for future disasters.
The U ribbon wraps Manhattan in a series of linked landscaped interventions acting
as a natural absorbent of eventual high waters while the rest of the time providing a
completely new experience surrounded by nature and water a step away from the
dense skyscraper reality of Manhattan. If the city finds the budget to build this
innovative and multifunctional flood protection it might not only resolve the problem
with sea level rise but also provide a new approach on how to reinvent the way our
cities interact with their rivers for years to come.

These cities are just a few examples of a new paradigm revealing diverse
approaches to how cities should interact with their rivers. They clearly show the need
to integrate rivers carefully into their future vision in order to provide the necessary
and more demanded public spaces close to nature in our urban reality.
Looking for creative solutions to reinvent the functions of the rivers, naturalize them
or give them the necessary space and value isnt making a step backward, but rather
a step towards a sustainable and resilient future.
Do you think weve missed another great example? Share it with us in the comments
below!

Article by Yuliya Georgieva

Yuliya Georgieva, Writer

Yuliya Georgieva was born in Kiev, Ukraine and brings with her a range of diverse
interests accompanied by specialist knowledge in Urban Planning and Policy Design,
giving her a rich context to base her thoughts and writing style on.