What does it mean for a transitioning urban waterfront to “work” from a sustainability perspective?

Urban waterfronts around the world, once the location of industry and trade, have transitioned to new uses. This shift raises important questions for the city-regions they serve, particularly concerning the sustainability of alternative uses. The literature on postindustrial waterfront development shows that many aspiring global cities have claimed waterfronts as places of sustainable urban development by promoting sustainable environmental practices, cultural preservation, and public precincts, parks, and esplanades. Critiques of waterfront developments have raised concerns about green gentrification, local displacement, and capture by global elites, all at the expense of social equity and shared economic prosperity. In this paper, we review the literature to investigate approaches to planning sustainable urban waterfronts in a global political economy. We consider five dimensions of sustainability – ecological, cultural, social, economic, and political – to interrogate how redeveloped urban waterfront sites can “work” to better serve their local and regional populations and ecosystems.