Reimagining Land Use and Parks in the Blue City

Abstract

In anticipation of rising seas and shifting boundaries between land and water, the time is right to rethink spatial planning so that it takes ocean and marine environments into account. Most future land use plans and community visions in coastal cities do not include mention of the wondrous marine habitats typically a stone’s throw away from where thousands (or even millions) of urban residents live, but these precedents reflect an outdated approach to urban planning that fails to fully recognize the connections between cities and their natural surroundings.