Urban redevelopment is the articulation of a shifting mixture of our cultural needs, wants, and ambitions; and its evolution over time presents great fodder for discussion of who we are and how we got here. This walk discusses three snapshots:

Past: The shops and condos at Brick Market Place were redeveloped in connection with the then new bridge and America's Cup Ave;, and  with the heavy hand of federal policy in the '60's and '70's - but with surprising sensitivity to our local cultural assets and character.  

Present: Bridge Street is currently adapting to the challenge of climate change (including, most pertinently, sea level rise), but also responding to a new willingness to accept denser development than the zoning restrictions of the previous 30 years.  

Future: The Gateway Center (actually, more specifically, the parking lot at the Gateway Center) is one of the sites identified by Libra Planners (in their City commissioned report) as appropriate for new, denser development, and has been adopted into Newport's Comprehensive Plan for future high-density development.  The Gateway Center (and adjoining Point Neighborhood) is a particularly appropriate place to pilot a geothermal micro-district - a possibility currently contemplated in pending bills in the RI legislature.

Let's walk and talk...