Blue space
Areas dominated by surface waterbodies / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In urban planning and design, blue space or blue infrastructure refers to all the areas which have bodies of water or water courses (that is lakes, rivers, and bays). Together with greenspace (parks, gardens and the like), it allows to lower the temperature in the city (called urban heat island).[1]
Many cities have waterbodies. Very often, these waterbodies have been important in the history of the city. One such example is the River Thames in London.[2]
Accessible blue spaces can help revitalize neighborhoods. It can also promote the people feeling like they belong together.[3] Examples of such project are the Chattanooga Waterfront (Chattanooga, Tennessee), the CityDeck in Green Bay, Wisconsin, or the Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City.[4] Festivals at the waterfront also help promote this feeling.
Neighborhoods with access to attractive natural features often have the problem of gentrification, people with more money, a better education or a higher social class will move in, and lead to a price increase. For this reason, the social benefits associated with waterbodies are often not distributed equally. Normal neighborhoods and poorer ones often do not have access to good quality blue spaces.[5]