July 25, 2019
Reflections: People on the Waterfront
In an ideal world, waterfronts would be available to all people. In most U.S. cities these prime sites are in private or industrial hands. Seattle has over 200 miles of shoreline, most of it inaccessible to the general public. The healing power of shorelines, water access and views are available only to the privileged.
Reflections: People on the Waterfront proposed to remedy this by strengthening public access to nature in “Shoreline Street Ends” (SSEs). Over 150 public streets in Seattle end on waterfronts, leaving the properties nearest to the shore as open rights-of-way. Nearly 2/3 of these SSEs are unmarked, overgrown, or have private encroachments. The Green Futures Lab, Pomegranate Center and EarthCorps proposed to transform 3 SSEs in different urban neighborhoods into accessible and inviting public open spaces that connect diverse populations of need to the water and its expansive views, inspiring reflection, connection and resilience to urban stresses for all populations.
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