Down by the riverside

Waterfront developments and re-developments have, over the last few decades, become a very popular tool for urban regeneration throughout the industrialized worldDerelict warehousing and docklands that were once at the heart of a city can be transformed into thriving residential and public spaces through such schemes – and in addition thousands of jobs can be created. In the UK, the 2 most notable waterfront re-developments were those for the Albert Dock in Liverpool (now a UNESCO world heritage site) and the London Docklands – both projects costing hundreds of millions of pounds that have converted dangerous and squalid quarters of these cities into areas filled with exclusive apartments, plazas, galleries and restaurants. In the process, in Liverpool more than 22,000 jobs were generated and in London the figure exceeded 120,000 new jobs. Follow the leaderThe success of these schemes encouraged other British cities to follow suit, chief amongst them Glasgow, Birmingham, Ma