Urban Seascaping: Seaweed as a catalyst for urban shoreline transformation in the age of the Anthropocene

Abstract

This article offers an introduction to a research project, "Urban Seascaping" (USS), which re-envisions the boundary between city and sea in response to the phenomenon of sea-level rise and frequent storm surge in the age of the Anthropocene. USS seeks to reconceptualise the current business-as-usual waterfront developments and coastal protection by investigating an unexplored solution space of embracing the agency of the sea and its coastal ecosystems as a key driver in the transformation of urban shorelines. With a focus on the coastal regions of Denmark, the research seeks to induce critical trans-disciplinary discussions on the limitations of a "hard approach" to coastal protection dominated by defence-driven mechanical handling of water. Moreover, the research highlights the current lack of marine nature-based "soft approach" in the waterfront area as part of coastal protection strategies. The project proposes a new form of urban commons in the waterfront, particularly exploring the full spectrum of coastal ecosystems using seaweed as a representative of a marine nature-based solution to enhance coastal resilience. The key is to depart from the current dualistic relationship between nature and culture to a more hybrid, interconnected and dynamic zone by incorporating coastal ecosystems as an active part of the socio-cultural cityscape and future resilience.