What kind of urban waterfront do you envision for the Anacostia River?

Bed Bath & Beyond big box retail store
Originally uploaded by rllayman.

The other post I've been meaning to write, and still won't quite yet, is about urban park issues. The redevelopment and re-engagement with the Anacostia River is a major urban park issue.

A few weeks ago, Adrian Washington, president of the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation, was interviewed in Roll Call (not available online), and his vision struck me as a very shopping-commercial tourist trap kind of vision centered around retail chains.
Paris Plage, Urban Beach in August in Paris. Photo: Bernard Bisson/Getty Images.

Other cities show us there are other ways to do things.

When all the calculations are about making money, and not about livability and creating better places and placemaking, the vision of the city as a homogenized shopping mall becomes more pronounced and more likely.

Think of it this way... the Anacostia Trails Heritage Area in Prince George's County is about connecting people with cultural heritage and economic development. It's not strictly about maximizing profits from access to the river.

I'm sure that the plans for the Anacostia River in DC, say the kinds of thngs that the plans say for ATHA. But ATHA's last big event was a big bike tour of their trail system and heritage resources on National Trails Day. Meanwhile Adrian Washington talks about Baltimore's Inner Harbor and Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
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"The Anacostia River is our city’s most undervalued natural resource – we must make the river that once divided us a symbol of our unity and the engine of a thriving waterfront" – Mayor Anthony Williams

And the five AWI themes are:

1. Restore: A Clean and Active River
2. Connect: Eliminating Barriers and Gaining Access
3. Play: A Great Riverfront Park System
4. Celebrate: Cultural Destinations of Distinct Character
5. Live: Building Strong Waterfront Neighborhoods
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Index Keywords: urban-design-placemaking