Spanning over 460 acres and 8 linear miles of waterfront, the Port of Los Angeles is among the most important pieces of infrastructure in the Western Hemisphere—the largest container port in the U.S., a linchpin for global logistics, and an industrial hub critical to San Pedro and L.A. County at large.
Today, the Port is imagining a more connective, accessible, and resilient future waterfront. Building on nearly $234 million in public access investment over the past two decades, the San Pedro Waterfront Connectivity Plan weaves together multiple goals, presenting strategies to enhance connectivity between the San Pedro shoreline, adjacent neighborhoods, and the wider region.
Building on extensive community engagement events including nearly 300 participants, the plan presents a comprehensive set of recommendations spanning vehicular, pedestrian, bicycle, public transit, and water-based mobility across the Port—as well as outlining open space, public art, wayfinding, and recreational opportunities. Direct connections to local climate action policy are woven throughout the plan, positioning the Port to deliver on its long-term sustainability goals in all proposed projects.
Navigating highly complex conditions, the plan brings together fundable, feasible, and resilient strategies to define a cohesive waterfront experience, solve for immediate connectivity issues, and remain adaptive to future use—a framework for a world-class waterfront destination for L.A. and the region.
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South Waterfront Greenway
A bold new plan for the area along the Willamette River includes a 1-1/2 mile extension of the City’s downtown’s parks and the reclamation of the river’s edge for public recreation. Working closely with the City of Portland, developers, and natural resource advocates, the design team devised a rational plan that places access and activity in targeted nodes wit...
Hangzhou Grand Canal
For centuries, the Beijing-Hangzhou’s Grand Canal – a staggering 1,000 linear miles which remain the world’s longest man-made waterway – was a lifeline for commerce and communication. The water’s edge was necessary for trade, a logical place to live, and often a driver of innovation. However, as with many waterfronts globally, it eventually fell victim to the...
North Bund Riverside
North Bund Riverside Park, located on a prominent 2.1 km waterfront along Shanghai’s Huangpu River, is the first project of its kind in Shanghai to address contiguous waterfront open space. The goal of the associated international competition was to find innovative solutions to transform a post-industrial waterfront with historic elements into a viable active ...
Xinyang Suo River
SWA recently completed a master plan for a 36 km length of the Xingyang Suo River located in Xinyang, China. Located on a site at the confluence of an elaborate network of waterways, the River has served as a transportation system for the movement of goods, services and people between Xingyang, Beijing and the coastal cities to the Southeast. This has transfor...