An exploration of the role of waterfront development in urban regeneration : Mossel Bay as case study

Abstract

This study evaluated the role of waterfront development in urban regeneration, as waterfronts are used as the element that re-establishes the physical links between parts of the city. Consequently, waterfront development is an essential open resource where visitors can carry out diverse social and cultural activities on a daily basis. Furthermore, CBDs benefit from lively waterfronts, which become popular tourist attractions. There is a dire need for urban regeneration. The study focuses on the evolution of waterfront development through the urban morphology modelsto identify the starting point of central places and the factors that may have an effect on the growth of a city. Just as urban regeneration forms part of the evolution of cities and waterfronts, and as the cities and waterfronts developed so did the term urban regeneration evolve to its present form. Thus, one has to understand what components have an influence on the term urban regeneration and what the benefits are. Thereafter, the different aspects of urban development and urban regeneration are incorporated into waterfront development to understand the role of waterfront development in urban regeneration. As waterfront development took place, the first port was developed to ensure transportation of goods from one place to the next. Subsequently, the role of the waterfront became economically driven. As time passed and the old harbour fronts fell into disuse, a new role for the waterfront was needed, and the new role came with waterfront regeneration. Historically, waterfront regeneration was only seen as imperative when a waterfront area is critical for the growth of the city. Notably, when there is no use for the area and the city is in the decline period, waterfront regeneration will be a priority. Consequently, the empirical study focused on exploring this role of waterfront development by means of two international case studies (Baltimore Inner Harbour, Toronto Harbour Front) and two national case studies (V& A Waterfront, Mossel Bay CBD and Port Precinct Plan). A qualitative approach was selected because it focuses on collecting and analysing information in as many forms as possible. Furthermore, a qualitative approach aims to achieve an in-depth understanding of the matter, which is important to allocate the role of waterfront development in urban regeneration. As the study focuses on understanding the role of waterfront development as part of urban regeneration within cities, it explores the methodological framework of case studies. The case study approach involves one or more circumstances within a bounded system. As some of the case studies can be irrelevant to a study, the qualitative approach was appropriate for this study, because it focuses on eliminating unwanted case studies. This is importantto ensure that case studies do not influence the result. To ensure that the relevant information is selected, the multiple case study design was used. The study concludes that waterfront development has three primary roles in urban regeneration and that these roles have evolved over time. In conclusion, the role of waterfront development is not only economically motivated, but also environmentally and socially significant.