Cultural approaches in waterfront development: A case study of Basra’s waterfront and its contribution to sustainable urban renewal

What is it about?

The waterfront development represented the starting point for reimagining the relationship with water, revitalizing city centers, and renewing their waterfronts to attract residents and make them richer. Culture has also assumed increasing importance as a tool for renewing waterfronts and upgrading them globally by reshaping the city’s image, taking pride in it, and capturing the unique qualities of the place. And the development of the city’s cultural identity, in addition to the contribution of sustainable development on the waterfront to improve the living conditionsof the city’s residents. With this, the research problem arose in the absence of a precise knowledge framework on the role of culture in the development of waterfronts to solve the research problem, the importance of culture in the development of waterfronts for cities, and its role in sustainable development, was clarified. Then a review of previous literature on the part of the culture in the development of waterfronts, building a theoretical framework and relying on its extracted vocabulary, which included both development programs and development strategies for the waterfront, the extent to which they were achieved locally was explored through a study of (3) sites of waterfronts in Basra Governorate - Iraq (Shatt Al-Arab Corniche, Al-Dakir Island Al-Ashar River within the heritage houses area), by adopting the descriptive-analytical method. The research found the contribution of cultural approaches to the development of the waterfront locally by linking the community to water and nature, activating and improving the historical and cultural identity, restoringhistorical and cultural sites, usingthe site as public green spaces for activities, in addition to the synergy between the environment and development and community involvement in the water conservation project. The research also concluded the need to exploit the cultural infrastructure, the assets of the cultural and natural heritage of cultural tourism, invest in social communication techniques, and adopt the strategy ofthe ecological-social and cultural approach (public landscapes, promotion of local art and culture, cultural center, cultural events), and the strategy of cultural renewal (renewal based on entertainment, cultural and service investment, based on creativity), to ensure the achievement of cultural approaches in the development of waterfronts.

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