Coastal Revival: A ‘Blue’ Approach
Coastal and seaside towns in the UK have faced significant changes over the last century, with some areas falling into deprivation. This blog explores the topic of blue urbanism as one way of reviving these towns through fostering a relationship with the coastal environment.
What is Blue Urbanism?
Beatley (2011) quotes “just as green urbanism challenges us to rethink sustainability at the city scale, blue urbanism asks us to re-imagine ourselves as citizens of a blue planet.” Blue urbanism calls for a better understanding of how coastal cities connect with the oceans. It challenges these areas to reconsider their policies to protect and conserve these environments through efforts by communities and governing bodies (Beatley, 2011). Having a healthy ocean creates a healthy city as people can enjoy a thriving landscape which provides food, recreation, transport and many other benefits.
Coastal areas in the UK
The general decline of coastal areas is a recognised problem in the UK. A study by the Office of National Statistics revealed that coastal areas are more likely to be deprived (Prothero and Sikorski, 2020). The factors that cause decline are complex yet nuanced. Years of deindustrialisation, changes in tourism, lack of economic diversity and housing challenges have contributed to the overall socio-economic decline in these areas (Agarwal et al., 2018).
As the reasons for decline are heavily area-specific, any interventions that challenge deprivation must be tailored to the area’s specific needs. However, blue urbanism could help generate change by improving the connections to the sea. Coastal towns often have seaside, port, or fishing activities as economic contributors. By focusing on these areas through design interventions, this can help support revitalisation through new facilities, opportunities for education, and new public spaces.
‘Blue-led’ examples
The Dover Esplanade project uses the natural waveform shape in creating the promenade. Each ‘wave’ has a different purpose, providing shelter, access to beach, or lighting. This project responds to the natural beach environment and provides useful facilities for the beach (Bell et al., 2021, pp.292-294).
Vinaròs, Spain, transforms a previously inaccessible landscape into a new social space by the seafront. Wooden platforms were built with minimal impact on the rocks, protecting them from human activity and creating a more comfortable place to sit by the coast (Bell et al., 2021, pp.426-427).
Conclusion
Blue urbanism is a good starting point for urban design interventions to help revitalisation. By understanding how specific coastal towns interact with their coastline, this can direct interventions to improve these areas. This will hopefully have a knock-on effect in improving the coastal experience for nature and the people.
References
Agarwal, S. et al. (2018), ‘Disadvantage in English seaside resorts: A typology of deprived neighbourhoods,’ Tourism Management, 69, pp. 440–459. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2018.06.012.
Beatley, T. (2011), ‘Blue Urbanism’, Places Journal, Available at: https://doi.org/10.22269/110418
Bell, S. et al. (2021), Urban Blue Spaces: Planning and Design for Water, Health and Well-Being. 1st edn., London: Routledge. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429056161
Prothero, R. and Sikorski, R. (2020), Coastal Towns in England and Wales: October 2020. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/tourismindustry/articles/coastaltownsinenglandandwales/2020-10-06
Figure References
Cantarella, L. and Diaz, N. (2007). Vinaròs Microcoasts. Available at: https://www.guallart.com/projects/vinaros-microcoasts
SCAPE (no date). Living Breakwaters. Available at: https://www.scapestudio.com/projects/living-breakwaters/
Tonkin Liu (2022), Three Waves. Available at: https://tonkinliu.co.uk/three-waves
