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In the 1950s the Ontario cityÌýof Cornwall was the site of a massive industrial infrastructural project, theÌýSt. Lawrence Seaway.
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The Seaway Project was aÌýmodernist dream intended to spur development of an industrial utopia. FollowingÌýthe completion of the Seaway Project, global economical shifts precluded theÌýaspirations for an industrialized Seaway and the planning of the modernistÌýindustrial utopia wasÌýnever realized. Today, Seaway traffic continues, butÌýwithout any benefit to the local communities it promised to improve. TheseÌýwaterfront communities no longer have an economic or architectural relationshipÌýto the St. Lawrence River. The Seaway Project has muted the waterfrontÌýidentities of these towns and cities and many former industrial sites along theÌýwaterfront are now either abandoned or contaminated. Today, many of the townsÌýand cities along the St. Lawrence River border are economically depressed andÌýare searching to wind ways of reinventingÌýthemselves.
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This thesis proposes a new design vision for theÌýCornwall Canal Lands, and it is meant to be applicable to all the communitiesÌýalong the St. Lawrence River border. The approach is not fixated on singularÌýoutcomes but rather sees urbanism as aÌýprocess dependent on time and humanÌýagency. This proposal utilizes three very specific frameworks in expandedÌýroles; the existing infrastructure as a network, the post-industrialÌýrequirement of environmental regeneration, and interpersonalÌýinteractions.ÌýCreating the armature for moments of interpersonal interactions is paramount inÌýthe new design vision. The renewed emphasis on the waterfront community createsÌýthe opportunity to build and strengthen community. The threeÌýframeworks,Ìýdesigned over four phases of duration, form a post-industrial design vision;Ìýbased on local citizen based involvement, sustainable form of city-making andÌýlocal experimentation that integrates existing urban morphology.
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