What all cities can learn from Paris and Porto—and why Brooklyn's Brooklyn Bridge Park should get a total makeover:
Cities today are resurgent in popularity and population growth, so the time is right for exploring how we can make them better. In our experience, taking a close look at how things are done in successful communities—as well as communities that fall short of the mark—offers clear lessons.
The key to making sure places thrive is fulfilling the needs of everyone who lives there—rather than focusing on the demands of cars, traffic engineers and real estate developers. The way to do that is creating multi-use, multi-dimensional public spaces— attractive, engaging places with many things to do so people of all ages and backgrounds will want to gather there.
Waterfronts are often the place to start because they are strongly linked to the identity and history of a city. There could be no Stockholm without the harbor, no San Francisco away from the bay, no Rio with no beaches. Most cities grew up around the water, but these birthplaces later became shunned as sketchy, polluted, disreputable places.
Now—from Abu Dhabi to London to Brisbane— waterfronts have been reimagined as vital civic assets. This presents an ideal opportunity for launching placemaking campaigns that involve the entire community in shaping public spaces that reflect their aspirations.
It's important to remember that placemaking means more than just adding distinctive or "cool" features to a location. It's about creating a place that engages people to do something more than look at it. It's about generating activity we want to join in on, connecting us with other people.
The waterfronts of Paris, Porto and Brooklyn offer important insights about what makes a place beloved by those who live, work and play there—and what doesn't. The secret is paying attention to how people actually use waterfront spaces. Below we show what sparks social activity and interaction in Paris and Porto— and how limited the options are in Brooklyn Bridge Park by comparison.
Porto's Historic Old Town:
Inspiration for Doing Density Right
Porto, Portugal's second largest city, straddles the Douro River near where it merges into the Atlantic Ocean. The waterfront is gloriously historic. It's easy to imagine what life was like here 150 years ago. The sheer pleasure that arises strolling these streets explains why Porto has become a pilgrimage site for city-loving travelers.
Porto's riverfront fosters activity all year around. Streets cascade down from hilltops to the riverside promenade, which is fronted by cafes, shops and public seating that encourages people to to linger. This district is recognized internationally for bustling public spaces that stretch over a wide geographical footprint, enlivened by three entry points funneling people into every section of the promenade. The rich interplay of all these elements adds up to one of the world's top waterfronts.
Public spaces overlook the water from various vantage points, giving Porto's waterfront the dynamic feel of an amphitheater.
The old town is dotted with small cafes and food kiosks offering refreshment and relaxation.
Plentiful public seating sets the stage for some of the best people-watching in Europe. A near-perfect waterside promenade accommodates two streams of passing pedestrians—one looking out on the water, the other checking out what's happening at outdoor cafes.
Paris's New Riverfront:
The Secrets of the World's Best Waterfront
The "city of light" on the Seine has long represented the gold standard by which all other cities are measured. Until recently, however, the Seine itself was not considered one of Paris's highlights. Indeed, it felt like gash ripping the city apart with wide riverside roads and roaring traffic.
That's changed dramatically over the past 15 years, as a series of projects transformed the river and a canal into what we believe is the world's #1 waterfront.
For many years, the Georges Pompidou Expressway barred public access to the Seine in most places, until the city government stepped in to prioritize people's enjoyment over the needs of cars. The upper roads along the river have been narrowed, allowing people on foot, on bicycles and pushing baby strollers to feel at home along the river and the city streets above it.
A sandy beach and pop-up restaurants changed the whole feel of the Seine —at first during the summer months, but now all year thanks to a permanent promenade and play areas. Numerous family-friendly activities today make the river seem like a zipper, uniting the Left and Right Banks.
Greatly-Loved New Places on the River
Paris Plage ("beach" in French), a bold experiment to create the ambience of a seaside resort in the heart of the city, lasted only 6 weeks in 2002. But its wild popularity led to the pedestrianization of both banks of the Seine, returning the riverfront to its rightful role as the heart of Paris. The"Plage" became a model, for a seasonal beach project we recommended for Detroit that helped recharge the downtown—one of many projects around the globe inspired by Paris's reinvigorated riverfront.
A series of mini-destinations along the Seine, each with their own distinct identity, make Paris the world's greatest waterfront.
Just a few of the many fun things to do up and down the Seine.
The riverfront is an exquisitely social place where everyone feels comfortable to sit, play, talk, eat or just watch.
Left Bank—Pop-Up Waterside Restaurants Enliven Things
Upriver from Notre Dame Cathedral, the riverfront has been animated by seasonal restaurants and bars that remain hopping into the early hours of the morning.
A diverse selection of dining spots attract crowds eager to sample the creativity of Paris's chefs.
Les Berges—Connecting the Riverfront from Musee d'Orsay to the Eiffel Tower
Art is an important element from Musee d'Orsay and Les Berges extending toward the Eiffel Tower. A giant blackboard, for instance, let's everyone express themselves.
This new seating was an immediate success, offering people many creative ways to make themselves comfortable.
Canal St-Martin—A New Plage Serves Lower-Income Neighborhoods
New playgrounds, exhibits and games along the canal attract many residents from the diverse, largely immigrant neighborhoods nearby.
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Fred Kent
Brooklyn Bridge Park:
A Lesson on What not to Do
Brooklyn Bridge Park is the borough's face to the world, offering great views of internationally renown sights like the Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge itself.
Paris and Porto offer instructive examples for improving Brooklyn Bridge Park as do waterfronts in Stockholm, London, Barcelona, Cape Town, Singapore, San Francisco, Washington, Halifax, and many other cities. So do places on the Brooklyn waterfront outside the park, such as Fulton Landing and Dumbo.
The good news is that a waterfront renaissance can happen rather quickly. In just 15 years, Paris went from near-nothing to the world's best. Washington, DC has come a long way in 10 years, and Halifax turned around their harbourfront in even less time. Brooklyn can catch up.
The first step for improving Brooklyn Bridge Park is replacing the berms with usable public space that offer food and display art and other cultural exhibits, similar to Porto. The next step is converting some of the vast expanse of riprap to playgrounds and other magnets for activity and social interaction as Paris has done. Halifax built out over the riprap, adding a significant amount of public spaces. All this would make a huge contribution to Brooklyn's growing reputation as a great global city.
These massive berms stretch all along the Brooklyn Promenade.
Brooklyn Bridge Park has 6 piers. Two of them are large athletic facilities. They are much needed and well-used, but do not offer any place for visitors not participating in sports events to have a conversation or enjoy a snack.
The green spaces in Brooklyn Bridge Park's feature mostly passive uses or organized sports.
Brooklyn Bridge Park's buildings are designed as sculptural objects, rather than places for people to settle in and have fun.
Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6:
Gateway to Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn's Main Street
Pier 6 is basically all trees and bushes with limited open space where people could take in the views.
Most folks visit waterfront parks for the views and a chance to be up close to the water. The one water feature in Brooklyn Bridge Park is hidden among the foliage and clearly not adequate for hot summer days.
A Bright Spot Under Brooklyn Bridge:
Fulton Landing and Jane's Carousel Emerge as Popular Waterfront Attractions
While Fulton Landing draws many pedestrians, the area is still dominated by cars and trucks.
Two public piers at Fulton Landing offer some space for public gatherings.
On the Waterfront—Brooklyn at Its best.
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Fred Kent
Our Favorite waterfronts:
Paris, Porto, London South Bank, Stockholm, Cape Town, Helsinki, Stavanger, Oslo, Bergen, San Francisco, Venice Beach, Sidney, Brisbane, Miami Beach, Halifax, Zurich, Venice, Rio de Janerio,
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Fred Kent
Fred Kent
Fred Kent
Not so Great:
New York City, Amsterdam, San Diego, Hong Kong, Singapore, Boston, Portland, Maine, Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Buenos Aires
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Kathy Madden
Fred Kent
Social Life Project’s mission is to highlight what makes public spaces thrive, drawing from communities around the world. Social Life Project is one of two inaugural program of our new non-profit the Placemaking Fund. Our second program is PlacemakingX, a global network of leaders who together will accelerate placemaking as a way to create inclusive, healthy, and beloved communities. To make the spaces we live into places we love.
Learn more about our two programs:
Fred Kent
Fred Kent
