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A Spine of Landscape



Ben Watt-Meyer
University of Toronto, 2011

Problem
The Lafitte corridor acts as a boundary between neighborhoods due to significant tracts of vacant land and disconnections in the street grid. Historically the corridor contained the Cardondelet shipping canal and today it contains a large underground drainage canal. These current and historical water systems are not visible on the ground and their topographic and hydraulic functions contribute to local flooding.

Proposal
A spine of constructed landscape infrastructure that functions in parallel to the existing hydraulic system has the potential to act as a catalyst for neighborhood development if it can act strategically as both civic space and water management. Through the creation of forested retention basins, a network of public green spaces, new residential and commercial buildings, and a reconnected urban fabric the Lafitte corridor will stimulate the surrounding area and create a vital link between the French Quarter and City Park.