Waterfront Planning Principles

Careful land-use planning is needed to turn the tide of urban sprawl in the Hudson Valley

NEW PUBLICATION: Scenic Hudson's "Hudson Riverfront Development Guide" -- a 100-page illustrated guide to responsible waterfront planning -- will be published in early 2010.

Programs such as the Clean Water Act and efforts by Scenic Hudson and other environmental organizations has vastly improved the water quality in the Hudson River over the past 30 to 40 years. Riverfronts no longer support industrial activity as they did in the 19th and early 20th centuries and, as a result, communities are once again embracing the Hudson as the face they present to the world. However, redevelopment of these abandoned industrial sites, sometimes tainted with contamination, must ensure that the public gains access to the shoreline, views of the Hudson remain open, resources are protected and buildings are designed within the character and scale of the community.

Likewise, careful land-use planning is needed to turn the tide of urban sprawl in the Hudson Valley. The lack of planning has resulted in the fragmenting of communities with auto-oriented development that has consumed open space at a rate four times population growth. Prime, productive farmland has been lost at an alarming rate. Historic sites have been encroached upon by suburbia and big box retail, and megastores and strip development have drained economic vitality from our downtowns.

Scenic Hudson works with concerned citizens, local officials, developers, community groups and policy makers to encourage "Smart Growth" that protects resources and focuses mixed-use and appropriately-scaled development in and adjacent to existing communities, thus reducing auto-dependence and creating a vibrant, walkable environment that will enhance community character, preserve the Hudson Valley's unique sense of place and help protect farmland and open space.