14 Distillation Guidebook Co-Lab • 9.18–9.19 2025 Despite local trajectories in waterfront evolution, overlapping waterfront challenges point to opportunities for shared learning and coordination. One participant explicitly referenced the potential for a “Rivertown network,” suggesting that small cities facing similar waterfront conditions could benefit from collective strategies, shared tools, and regional collaboration to navigate their waterfronts’ futures. The challenges for waterfronts are about reconciling an industrial past and preparing for future environmental needs. Cities must address the legacies of industrial and infrastructure development, remediating pollution, mitigating environmental damage, and repairing disrupted connections between neighborhoods and waterways. At the same time, they must prepare for growing climate risks. Rising water levels, increased flooding, and erosion make careful planning and investment more urgent than ever. Across these conversations, one consistent thread emerged about the importance of reconnecting residents socially and culturally to waterfronts, which industrial uses and infrastructure previously severed. These landscapes are important cultural assets, shaping cities’ histories and identities. Laura Stedenfeld from Easton says the Delaware River “defines the whole identity of the city.” Reclaiming waterfronts therefore offers an opportunity to reintroduce more connected, pre-industrial relationships to rivers and coasts. This requires a reclamation process but importantly social activation that helps residents reimagine how they can engage with these spaces. One idea gaining traction is interim activation. In several cities, organizers are exploring temporary or phased uses between the closure of industrial sites and full-scale redevelopment. Rather than waiting years or decades for complete remediation, interim activation introduces public programming, art, trails, or pop-up events that re-establish a social connection to the waterfront. These approaches allow communities to begin rebuilding relationships with their rivers while longer-term cleanup and planning are still underway. Charting a New Course: Collaboration and Interim Activation
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