Heritage and change on the naval waterfront: opportunity and challenge

The paper examines naval waterfront decline, the potential heritage legacy of that decline, and the challenges which that legacy poses for urban and coastal zone planning and management. An initial analysis of decline processes is juxtaposed with exploration of the stateʹs changing role in the abandonment of naval waterfronts. The range of potential heritage resources likely to be released by naval retreat is assessed, and it is shown that this rich endowment frequently extends well beyond the immediate urban waterfront to engage other parts of the cityport and the wider coastal zone. The impressive 20th-century growth of naval ports raises issues concerning heritage definition, but it is also argued that naval heritage of whatever era has the capacity to create an additional and extensive range of planning and management challenges. These extend from building constraints, through aesthetic issues to economic-impact and market considerations. It is on these challenges, which often contrast sharply with commercial waterfront experiences, that the case for naval waterfront research is based.