The comprehensive plan for Bridgeport, Connecticut's shoreline imagined an accessible and active waterfront where currently exists underutilized industrial and brownfield sites.
The plan included a section that suggested year-round activation opportunities for the waterfront.
Existing waterfront spaces were re-visioned as vibrant destinations and placemaking hubs to create visibility and high-energy activity along the waterfront.
The comprehensive plan for Bridgeport, Connecticut's shoreline imagined an accessible and active waterfront where currently exists underutilized industrial and brownfield sites.
WATERFRONT BRIDGEPORT
Creating a "waterfront for everyone" along 24 miles of shoreline in Bridgeport, CT
Bridgeport, Connecticut is a mid-sized city whose shoreline is populated with a number of current and former industrial and brownfield sites. These properties block neighborhood connections to the waterfront, inhibiting residents from taking advantage of proximity to Bridgeport’s rivers and Long Island Sound. The sheer amount of vacant or underutilized land along the water presented a unique opportunity for change – change that offers the possibility of waterfront access, a connected pathway, recreation, access to jobs, and a transformative image for the city.
CivicMoxie led the team for Waterfront Bridgeport, a comprehensive waterfront plan that helps Bridgeport to realize the potential of the previously-underutilized shoreline sites, and help to re-imagine the water’s edge as a place to work, live, and play. CivicMoxie developed a robust public outreach strategy, engaging with highly diverse waterfront neighborhoods and their residents, various stakeholders, a local youth team (Groundwork Bridgeport), as well as engaging with residents online on the coUrbanize platform. The final vision plan identified opportunity sites for development, themed focus areas along the waterfront, and an overall development framework for implementation. CivicMoxie took the plan from paper to implementation by assisting the City in forming a Waterfront Advisory Group and identifying local organizations such as the Trust for Public Land, the local downtown BID, and MetroCOG that can offer expertise and resources to move forward.
Project type:
Community engagement, community revitalization, comprehensive / master plan, downtown / district plan, placemaking, real estate planning, urban design, waterfront / resiliency
