The redevelopment of maritime and riverfront areas is a crucial element in the transformation of many urban areas, providing a series of significant benefits for cities and their inhabitants. The presence of water, whether in rivers, lakes or seas, has historically played a fundamental role in the formation and development of many cities, intimately related to their dynamics. This relationship has changed and presented itself in different ways over time, and these spaces have often been neglected in numerous ways, particularly by a certain type of urban planning that disregarded their potential in favor of other imperatives, such as road transport and industrial equipment.
Several initiatives have been proposed in recent decades to rethink and transform many of these coastlines, previously underutilized or degraded, into active public spaces that the entire population can enjoy. These newly constructed coastal spaces can host various practices such as recreation and leisure activities, cultural events, different ways of physical exercise, and even broader contact with nature, an experience that may be rare in certain cities. Another relevant aspect of many of these projects is their role in recovering previously polluted rivers and maritime sectors, often collaborating with the rehabilitation of ecosystems and the maintenance of the environment, especially in the face of the environmental and climate crisis we are facing.
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