Karsten Ley

A Comprehensive Urban Design Scheme for the Brooklyn and

Queens East River Waterfront

Although New York City is actually a city on the water, it is only these last twenty years that the metropolis has rediscovered the value of this fact. Nevertheless, apart from political statements and a few projects, there is hardly any initiative to use this potential at large. Thus, the scope of this self-chosen thesis project was to subtend towards the variety of current projects an independent contribution for one single area defined as "Third Waterfront".

This waterfront, eleven miles from Red Hook in Brooklyn to Astoria in Queens, contains an area determined by extended industrial and maritime uses. This under-utilization contrasts with the enormous demand for space in housing, working, and leisure. The vicinity to the CBDs, in addition to the location on the water and the fantastic view onto the skyline of Manhattan, even increases the development-pressure within this area.

In this project, the study-area is upgraded in terms of urban design, function, strategy, and architectural design by various analysis - and assessment methods. Within five sections, planning processes and design principles are discussed in plans and catalogues at various scales, and the main urban uses are focused on.

A combination of linear and sectional elements gives structure and hierarchy to the study-area. A matrix displays the potentials and planning aims for each sub-area. However, the centre of this thesis is represented by the "Urban Design Scheme", which illustrates a generous image without loosing too much sharpness in detail. It is supported by studies on specific topics as well as on specific locations; thence schematic models are deducted, which determine the organization of the whole waterfront.

This "Urban Design Scheme" is not an urban design master-plan; neither is it a non-committal planning strategy: its main task is to visualize a design and planning framework for the "Third Waterfront New York City".

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