Goings on part 1

-       Give us opportunities to get closer to the water, and give us something to do!

That’s the two strong themes in the feedback from the Seattle public when asked what they want the Seattle waterfront to be in the future. And I would say that’s a general opinion in Umeå too, when it comes to the new waterfront design. Getting closer to the water is a challenge in both cities. The Umeå River is running fast through downtown and a dangerous water to be around. Portage Bay is deep and crowded from ferries, cruise ships and heavy traffic with the Port of Seattle as destination. Creating spaces for activities on the other hand, is a more down-to-earth task, and both my cities are ready to take it on.

There are two loved and highly populated green parks within the Umeå waterfront, Rådhusparken (The City Hall Park) and Broparken (The Bridge Park, connected to the oldest of the three bridges crossing the Umeå river in the city). Both of them will now be redesigned, Rådhusparken by Ulf Nordfjell, a Umeå-born landscape architect with world reputation, and Broparken by Anna Flatholm, the City landscape architect.

Rådhusparken will be stretched all the way down to the water, ending in black rough wood and granite creating a grey shade space, communicating with the black and white glass exterior of it’s neighbor Kulturväven, the new building for cultural arts. Rådhusparken, in the very heart of the city, will probably in the future still be nr. 1 on the top ten list of Umeå parks when it comes to casual downtown picnics, bare torso sun soaking and impromptu hanging.

Broparken will have a different agenda. The design is a rolling flowing green space declining towards the river, including two stages, temporary market space, and areas for inner city farming. At the bottom, connecting to the new skateboard park Sparken that is already there, a Parkour park, the first one in Sweden designed in collaboration with Parkour practitioners. So, Broparken will be a park for contemplation, arts, market, small scale farming and adventurous people climbing, jumping, forcing hinders with grace, speed and termination. The work has started and the park will be done within a year. And both parks will be beautiful welcoming outdoor rooms for residents of Umeå and guests from all over the world in time for the biggest event ever in Umeå, The European Capital of Culture 2014.

The Seattle public is eager to start seeing some proof of Waterfront for All actually happening, that’s what Marshall Foster, head of the Seattle Department of Planning and Development, announced at the mid July presentation of the giant 26-block project. The impact of the development is compared with the Seattle Worlds Fair 1962, 50 years ago. So, what’s happening? Well, that’s an exciting cliffhanger for next week.