“统一且连贯的Flats连通计划为克利夫兰创造了一个由开放空间和步道构成的网络，并利用其独特且历史悠久的工业背景促进了河岸地带的复兴，同时建立了与周围社区的联系。该计划适应了多样的城市尺度，将未得到充分利用的闲置场地重新整合到河岸的建设和可持续发展当中，为原本孤立的社区重新提供了进入公园的路径。被矿渣堆和铁路设施占据的特殊场地最终被转变为一个具有高度连通性和适应性的充满活力的公共区域。”
– 2019年评审委员会
“The extremely thorough and coherent Flats Connections Plan creates an open space and trail network in Cleveland that leverages the unique conditions of its historically industrial neighborhood to revitalize the riverfront and build connections to surrounding communities. The plan functions at a multiplicity of urban scales, and draws on underutilized and vacant sites to invigorate the riverfront, improve sustainability, and allow access to park space for previously isolated communities. The plan transforms slag heaps, rail infrastructure, and challenging topography into a dynamic public realm rooted in equity, connectivity, and resilience.” – 2019 Awards Jury
Flats是克利夫兰中心的一个地势低洼的街区，也是以“燃烧的”工业历史而著称的凯霍加河汇入伊利湖时所要经过的地带。在东西两侧的断崖的约束下，凯霍加河曾经将其流域分割为多个与其功能相适应的街区，例如工业区、铁路区和公路区等。船舶运输通道的建立使得Flats街区与河岸相隔，并在社区之间形成了障碍。数十年来，这些社区的水道在污染和工业的影响下逐渐退化。
Flats连通计划提出了一个由开放空间和步道构成的网络，旨在利用社区的独特现状来实现河岸地带的复兴，同时将河岸与周围的社区乃至整个地区连接起来。作为丰富工业历史的一部分，本次规划还着眼于当下和未来，在与邻居、当地组织以及城市官员的通力合作下，将其价值观和关注点引入了对Flats社区的未来构想。Flats连通计划不仅诠释了不同社区在文化和工业上的多元历史，还促进了当地的生态管理、改善了水质并为实现均等的可达性移除了障碍。
▲克利夫兰Flats地区连通计划平面图：介于东西两侧断崖之间的凯霍加河曾经是克利夫兰的工业心脏，也是阻碍社区连接的一道鸿沟。2019年是凯霍加河最后一次大火的50周年纪念。当年的大火为1972年《清洁水法案》的通过提供了契机。Cleveland Flats Connections Plan: Bound by bluffs to the east and west, the Cuyahoga River is an industrial heart and historical divide between Cleveland’s communities. 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the river’s last burning, a rallying cry point for the 1972 Clean Water Act.
概述
凯霍加河以其“燃烧的”工业历史而著称，并在与伊利湖的交汇处形成了800平方英里的分水岭。位于克利夫兰中心的Flats社区便是凯霍加河汇入五大湖流域所要经过的一个低洼地带。两个世纪以来的工业活动改变了河流的形态，使原本流势强劲的U形河道变成了被钢铁包覆的船运通道。凯霍加河在历史上曾经将其流域分割为多个与其功能相适应的街区，例如工业区、铁路区和公路区等。船舶运输通道的建立使得Flats街区与河岸相隔，并在社区之间形成了障碍。数十年来，这些社区的水道在污染和工业的影响下逐渐退化。直至1969年，在生态已经遭到严重破坏的凯霍加河发生的第十次（也是最后一次）大火，终于为1972年《清洁水法案》的通过提供了契机。
在整个1960-1970年代，凯霍加大都会住房管理局（CMHA）一直在Flats街区内部扩大社会保障住房的规模。虽然这些塔楼拥有朝向市中心天际线与伊利湖的视野，但同时也深受河岸工业设施的污染影响。20世纪后期，工业设施逐渐搬离了Flats街区，原先的工业用地和附近废弃的铁路区呈现出荒无人烟的空阔景象。与此同时，克利夫兰市致力于改善河流的水质，并试图借助俄亥俄与伊利运河曳船道（Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail）上的连接路径建立一条休闲走廊。按照计划，建成后的走廊会将凯霍加河谷国家公园连接至伊利湖，然而，Flats街区成为了这其中的一个“断联地带”。
由当地各界利益相关者组成的联盟留用了既有的设计团队，以深入研究潜在的开放空间和步道，从而重新连接这条空隙，将Flats街区与河岸统一起来，同时以克利夫兰市中心为起点，使该区域沿着凯霍加河最终与伊利湖相接。Flats连通计划提出了一个由开放空间和步道构成的网络，旨在利用社区的独特现状来实现河岸地带的复兴，同时将河岸与周围的社区乃至整个地区连接起来。作为丰富工业历史的一部分，本次规划还着眼于当下和未来，在与邻居、当地组织以及城市官员的通力合作下，将其价值观和关注点引入了对Flats社区的未来构想。Flats连通计划不仅诠释了不同社区在文化和工业上的多元历史，还促进了当地的生态管理、改善了水质并为实现均等的可达性移除了障碍。
计划构成
Flats连通计划为Flats街区内部提供了迫切需要的开放空间，改造了未能得到充分利用和闲置的地块，同时保留了河流沿岸的土地，为未来的公共项目提供了资源和机会。该计划主要针对连湖步道、Irishtown Bend和Wendy公园三个部分进行了分析、参与和概念设计。
阐释丰富的文化和工业历史
连湖步道（Lake Link Trail）重新利用了城市第一条铁路的通行权。设计团队将历史悠久的克利夫兰和马霍宁谷铁路（Cleveland & Mahoning Valley Rail）作为连接伊利湖和俄亥俄与伊利运河曳船道（Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail）的切入点，并使Flats街区成为一个必经地带。铁路为城市肌理带来的空隙如今遍布着植物，呈现出一种与众不同的孤高感。铁路穿过Flats街区，连接了场地中重要的历史资源，包括独特的景点以及可以用于建设公共场所的工业遗迹，并且为计划中的两个重要的公园（Irishtown Bend和Wendy公园）创造了连接的机会。连湖步道在历史悠久的铁路场地的基础上增加了开放的社区空间和公设施，为公众带来了面向凯霍加河岸和沿线工业遗址的超现实美景。
促进生态管理
Irishtown Bend是一块34英亩的闲置场地，位于凯霍加河的陡峭河岸上，其地势由于受到严重侵蚀而变得十分不稳定。Irishtown Bend考古区曾经是欣欣向荣的爱尔兰移民聚居区，后被列为国家历史名胜名录。与场地相邻的是建造于1960年代的Riverview Tower高级住宅区和俄亥俄城市农场（Ohio City Farm），后者在为社区带来低价食物的同时，也为生活在克利夫兰的移民提供了就业机会。Irishtown Bend还拥有与河岸工业相关的独特历史遗迹，其规划愿景是将这些遗迹与当代用途相结合，塑造出一个全新的滨水公园，为社区带来休闲和开放的空间，并使其与河岸相连接。Irishtown Bend将与Wendy公园共同通过改变场地的径流和增加栖息地来促进水质的改善。滨水绿化带为船运通道沿线提供了新的鱼类栖息环境，带有公共路径的河岸花园则为候鸟提供了家园，原本被工业景观包围的河流也得以重新沉浸于自然环境。沿着连湖步道分布的一系列入口欢迎着社区居民和游客来体验公园的优美全景。
Wendy公园是区域中既有的公园，位于凯霍加河与伊利湖的交汇处，作为Flats连通计划的收尾部分。如今的公园已经与Flats街区断连，未能发挥出其所在场地的独特生态潜力。Wendy公园与建造于1930年代的联邦公共住房社区Lakeview Terrace距离仅为0.25英里，但在矿渣堆和铁路设施的阻隔下，从社区步行至公园需要花费1个多小时的时间。与公园紧密连接的地区是拥有最多儿童和老年居民的俄亥俄城市社区。公园的未来愿景是在这个曾经一度衰退的场地上创造一个环境公正的实验场。一条8分钟路程的步道跨越天桥，将社区与新建的湿地修复区、学习中心、休闲区域以及拥有壮观河岸及城市视野的公园社交空间连接起来。此外，未来计划中还包含了公园的管理方案。
构成整体规划的三个区域都分别涉及到广泛的公共参与，通过与利益相关者的对话和公共会议为Flats连接计划的实施提供了依据。设计团队与Flats的各个社区进行互动以便对场地研究、概念性方案和规划进行回顾和讨论，并通过分析人们对场地的使用现状了解到使用者对场地安全性和可达性的顾虑及期望，从而将其纳入未来的区域规划当中。实施过程中还征求了来自当地工业、生态和文化各界的意见，从而将街区的历史和故事记录和融入到新的规划当中。公平的设计促进了创新性合作关系的建立，同时，为期十年的规划进程也将参与的公民、当地非营利组织、私营企业、设计公司、公共机构和联邦资助机构等多方利益相关者聚集在一起。
吸取经验再出发
Flats连通计划的每个部分已在实施当中。其中连湖步道的1-2期已经完成，连接Wendy公园的人行天桥也已经筹齐了资金，很快将开始施工。这一系列规划令克利夫兰得以重新将税收投入到曾经被废弃的城市景观中，从而为地区性的连通计划以及休闲设施的建设提供支持。
该计划大大增加了克利夫兰河岸开放空间的使用潜力和公共价值，通过多年的努力创造出创新性的合作关系，为未来的公共项目建设提供了资源和机会。同时，计划还为Flats街区的废弃工业景观提供了简单而具有变革性的管理框架：为社区居民创造公平的使用权，重新构建曾经丢失的连接。
▲凯霍加河在与伊利湖的交汇处形成了800平方英里的分水岭。位于克利夫兰中心的Flats地区是凯霍加河流经的一个低洼地带，它连接了凯霍加河国家公园和伊利湖。Degraded by decades of pollution and industry, the Cuyahoga’s 800-square mile watershed drains into Lake Erie through the Flats. This neighborhood in the heart of Cleveland is the missing link in a trail connecting Cuyahoga National Park to Lake Eerie.
▲工业、铁路和公路建设对凯霍加河与伊利湖周围的社区形成了阻碍，使其与河岸的开放空间断开连接。Flats连通计划在创建新开放空间和步道网络的过程中重新利用了这些独特的场地条件。industry, rail, and highway infrastructure has landlocked communities adjacent to the Cuyahoga River and Lake Eerie, disconnecting them from open space and their waterfront. The Flats Connections Plan leverages these unique conditions in the new open space and trail network.
▲Flats连通计划为街区内部提供了迫切需要的开放空间，改造了未能得到充分利用和闲置的地块，同时保留了河流沿岸的土地，为未来的公共项目提供了资源和机会。The Flats Connections Plan’s trail and open space network offers much-needed open space within the neighborhood’s historic industrial fabric: connecting the Flats to its waterfronts, transforming currently underutilized or vacant land. and preserving prime real estate for public benefit.
▲通过利用废弃的铁路，连湖步道将重新与曳船道相接，并为未来的两个公园提供了相互关联的机会。步道沿线的社区也将重新建立联系，共享社区价值与发展进程。Utilizing an abandoned railroad, the Lake Link Trail will complete the regional missing link to the Towpath Trail and connect two future parks to each other and to adjacent communities, who shared values, concerns, and ambitions during the planning process.
▲曾经被废弃的克利夫兰和马霍宁谷铁路拥有独特的工业景观，能够被很好地重新利用：克利夫兰最古老的“旧底特律街大桥”通过其隧道将连湖步道与Irishtown Bend 连接起来，并得以重新向公众开放。The abandoned Cleveland & Mahoning Valley Railroad has unique industrial features that lend themselves to adaptive reuse: tunnels of “Old Detroit Street Bridge”, Cleveland’s oldest extant bridge, connect the trail with Irishtown Bend and could be reopened for public access.
▲Irishtown Bend的过去与现在：这处位于断崖上的空地曾经维系着爱尔兰居民区的铁路基础设施。如今，其土地受到严重侵蚀而失去了稳定性，不仅威胁着河道，还导致了街区与河流的断连。Past and present inform Irishtown Bend’s future. This vacant site on the Cuyahogas’s escarpment once sustained an Irish community and rail infrastructure. Today severe erosion renders the site unstable, threatens the river channel, and disconnects the neighborhood from the river.
▲规划愿景利用了关键的岩土条件，防止受到侵蚀的坡体滑入船运通道，从而创建出一个全新的滨水公园，为附近欠缺服功能的社区带来开放空间和休闲场所。A new vision leverages the critical geotechnical conditions – preventing the eroding slope from sliding into the Cuyahoga, an active shipping channel – to create a new urban waterfront park providing open space and recreational opportunities to the adjacent under-served neighborhood.
▲计划利用场地的陡峭坡度创造出生态丰富的河岸带，不仅强调了场地的文化和工业历史、使国家考古区与河流重新建立连接，还在传统的河堤加固的基础上增加了生态和教育价值。The vision leverages the site’s dramatic slope to create a varied river’s edge that celebrates the site’s cultural and industrial history, reconnects the national archaeological district to the river, and adds ecological and educational value to a traditional bulkhead stabilization.
▲公园通过连湖步道重新与地区相连，并融入到场地既有的独特地形当中。沿线分布的一系列入口欢迎着社区居民和游客来体验公园朝向河流与天际线的优美全景。The park’s organization connected to the region via the Lake Link Trail, weaves together the unique topography and extant features of the site with welcoming gateways to adjacent communities, new neighborhood uses, and panoramic views of the river and skyline.
▲街区公园：新的街区设施包括代际游乐场以及休闲雨水花园，将俄亥俄城市街区的居民吸引至河岸。NEIGHBORHOOD PARK: New neighborhood amenities including intergenerational play and recreational opportunities and rain gardens, invite and reconnect the Ohio City neighborhood to its waterfront
▲河岸露天剧场：与连湖步道相接的河边走廊结合了既有的工业遗迹，创造出一个新的社交空间，阶梯式的地形呼应了河流的形态，并提供了面向市区和海上活动的视野。MARITIME THEATER: A promenade at the river’s edge connects the Lake Link Trail through the park, incorporates extant industrial relics, and creates a social space that celebrates the theater of the river’s morphology, views to Downtown, and maritime activity.
▲Wendy公园是区域中既有的公园，位于凯霍加河与伊利湖的交汇处，作为Flats连通计划的收尾部分。公园与旁边的联邦公共住房社区Lakeview Terrace距离仅为0.25英里，却需要步行1小时才能到达。Wendy Park, an existing park at the nexus of the Cuyahoga and Lake Erie, marks the terminus of the Flats Connections Plan. Reaching the park by walking or transit today lakes Lakeview Terrace residents, only 1/4 mile away, nearly one hour.
▲公园的未来愿景是在这个曾经一度衰退的场地上创造一个环境公正的实验场。一条新的步道跨越天桥，将社区与生态恢复区和社交空间连接起来。The vision for Wendy Park’s future creates a waterfront laboratory for environmental justice in an area historically associated with degradation. A new pedestrian bridge connects the neighborhood to ecological restoration areas, and social spaces via the Lake Link Trail.
▲湿地木栈道：湿地中的一系列滨水木栈道和“漂浮”的教室为公众提供了垂钓、赏鸟以及体验克利夫兰丰富而优美的湖泊景观的机会。WETLANDS BOARDWALK: A series of waterfront boardwalks and “floating classrooms” within the restored marsh provide public access to fishing, bird watching, and opportunities to experience and learn about the richness and beauty of Cleveland’s unique lacustrine landscape.
▲从露天剧场远眺城市：公园的部分场地被抬升以最大程度地带来城市和湖泊视野。阶梯式的草坪和看台为人们创造了集会、野餐、以及欣赏伊利湖和克利夫兰市区景色的场地。OVERLOOK & CITY THEATER: Portions of the park are elevated to maximize views of the city and lake. Terraced lawns and bleachers create spaces for events and casual gathering, picnicking, and enjoying panoramic views of Lake Erie and Downtown Cleveland.
INTRODUCTION
The Cuyahoga River, famous for combusting throughout its industrial history, has an 800-square mile watershed that drains into Lake Erie and the Great Lakes Drainage Basin through the Flats, a low-lying neighborhood in the heart of Cleveland. Two centuries of industrial activity manipulated the morphology of the river, fixing a once-dynamic oxbow river into an armored shipping channel. Bound by bluffs to the east and west, the Cuyahoga has historically divided communities; industrial, rail, and highway infrastructure associated with the river’s role as a regional shipping corridor has disconnected the Flats from its waterfront, created barriers among communities, and for decades degraded their waterways by pollution and industrial use. In 1969, the tenth and final fire on the ecologically decimated Cuyahoga River was a rallying point for passing the 1972 Clean Water Act.
Throughout the 1960s-70s, the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) expanded their affordable housing offerings within the Flats neighborhood. Although these towers offered views of the downtown skyline and Lake Erie, they were also contiguous with polluting industrial facilities along the river and landlocked by adjacent infrastructure. As industry vacated the Flats in the latter part of the 20th Century, a wild, largely uninhabited landscape emerged, both along the river on vacant industrial sites and within the neighborhood’s abandoned railroad right-of-ways. Simultaneously, the City of Cleveland committed to improving the water quality of the river and providing recreational access via regional trail connections on the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail that could, when completed, connect Cuyahoga Valley National Park to Lake Erie – if not for the missing link within the Flats neighborhood.
A consortium of diverse local stakeholders retained the design team to investigate potential open space and trail connections to bridge this gap in access, with the goal of uniting the Flats with its waterfront and linking the region to Lake Erie along the Cuyahoga and through the heart of Cleveland. The Cleveland Flats Connections Plan is an open space and trail network that leverages the unique history of the Flats neighborhood to revitalize the riverfront and connect to surrounding communities and to the region. Part of a rich history, the Plan also looks to the present and future, working with neighbors, local organizations, and city officials to incorporate their values and concerns into a vision for the Flats. The Flats Connections Plan interprets the rich cultural and industrial histories of the neighborhood’s diverse communities, catalyzes ecological stewardship, improves water quality, and transforms barriers for equitable access.
PLAN COMPONENTS
The Flats Connections Plan provides much-needed open space within the Flats neighborhood, transforming underutilized and vacant sites and preserving land along the river that would be prime real estate for public benefit. The Plan includes analysis, engagement, and conceptual designs for three major components: the Lake Link Trail, Irishtown Bend, and Wendy Park.
INTERPRETING RICH CULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL HISTORIES.
The Lake Link Trail utilizes the abandoned right-of-way of the City’s first rail line. The design team identified the historic Cleveland & Mahoning Valley Rail as an opportunity to link Lake Erie to trail connections of the Ohio & Erie Towpath Trail, through the Flats. The railway’s extant voids in the urban fabric, vacant and overtaken by ruderal vegetation, have a unique and sublime character. The railway links important historic resources throughout the Flats, including unique site features and industrial relics that can be adapted for new public uses. It directly connects the two key park opportunities identified in the Plan, Irishtown Bend and Wendy Park. The Lake Link Trail builds on the unique qualities of the historic railway with new neighborhood open space amenities, opening to the public the fantastic views, river access, and the surreal industrial riparian edge of the Cuyahoga.
CATALYZING ECOLOGICAL STEWARDSHIP
Irishtown Bend is a 34-acre vacant site on the steep banks of the Cuyahoga, rendered unstable by severe erosion that threatens the stability of the hillside and river channel. The Irishtown Bend Archaeological District, once a thriving neighborhood of Irish immigrants, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The site borders Riverview Tower, a 1960s senior housing community, and includes Ohio City Farm, an urban farm that provides affordable food to the neighborhood and employment opportunities for immigrants to Cleveland. Irishtown Bend also includes unique remnants of the river’s industrial history. The vision for the park weaves together these current and historic uses in a new riverfront park that provides recreational and open space opportunities, connects the neighborhood to its waterfront, and celebrates the site’s history and ecological potential. Together with Wendy Park, Irishtown Bend helps to improve water quality by treating site runoff and increasing habitat. A green bulkhead provides new fish spawning habitat along the shipping channel, supported by riparian gardens with focused public access that also create habitat for migratory birds and an opportunity for immersion in nature within the river’s industrial landscape. Welcoming gateways to the site along the Lake Link Trail invite neighbors and regional visitors into the park to experience its panoramic views.
TRANSFORMING BARRIERS FOR EQUITABLE ACCESS.
Wendy Park is an existing park that terminates the Flats Connections Plan at the nexus of the Cuyahoga and Lake Erie. Today, the park is disconnected from the Flats and does not acknowledge the unique ecological potential of its location. Wendy Park is located a quarter-mile from Lakeview Terrace, a 1930s federal public housing project, but is separated from this community by slag heaps and railroad infrastructure: to get to Wendy Park takes over an hour walking, and 50 minutes by transit today. The park’s immediate vicinity is home to the highest concentrations of children under five and seniors in the Ohio City neighborhood. The vision for the park’s future creates a laboratory for environmental justice in an area historically associated with degradation. An eight-minute walk on the Lake Link Trail across a new pedestrian bridge connects the neighborhood to new marsh restoration areas, a Learning Center, recreation opportunities, and new social spaces that celebrate the park’s lacustrine landscape and downtown views. The vision includes a management plan.
The three site areas have each included an extensive public process, ranging from small stakeholder conversations to large public meetings, that was foundational to the development of the Flats Connections Plan. Engaging the diverse communities of the Flats to review and discuss site analysis, concept alternatives, and plans for the three site areas, the design team incorporated how people currently use and appreciate these sites, their concerns about safety and access, and their wishes for the future into the Plan. The process also provided opportunities to illuminate and record histories and stories about the neighborhood by soliciting input on local and regional history, industry, ecology, and culture. Equitable design requires creative partnerships, and this ten-year process has brought together many stakeholders – engaged citizens, local non-profits, private business, design firms, public agencies, and federal funding initiatives.
LESSONS AND NEXT STEPS
Portions of the Flats Connections Plan are already underway. Phases 1-2 of the Lake Link Trail are constructed, and the pedestrian bridge to Wendy Park is funded and will soon begin construction. These opportunities have enabled the City of Cleveland to reinvest countywide tax money into urban landscapes that were previously derelict, and support regional goals for connectivity and recreational amenity.
The Plan has cultivated appreciation and investment in the public value and potential of Cleveland’s riverfront open spaces. This multi-year effort has forged innovative partnerships, identified opportunities to preserve real estate for public benefit, and developed a framework for stewardship of the abandoned industrial landscapes of the Flats, through a simple but transformative premise: create new, equitable public access for neighborhood’s communities, connecting a missing link.
