tampa-city flux
Location: City of Tampa, Florida, USA
Area 2,258,406m2
Historically, space for society was created by dominating nature. In the case of Tampa, a dam and a canal were built on the Hillsborough River to control flooding and the riverbanks were reinforced with concrete edges. City Flux reestablishes the kind of fluxations which were present in the natural system and incorporates them into the urban structure as a framework for economic redevelopment. Management strategies mimic the natural processes of disturbance and colonization which would be present. Ecological function and economic and cultural development restitch the city to the river and natural areas become integrated into the social and economic life of the city. As boundaries are redefined through fluxuations over time, the ecological value of the river is added to the urban structure and the social fluxuation of the city finds a new expression through the river.
The city and river are restitched when the natural fluxuations of the river are incorporated into the static urban structure and the river once again becomes relevant in the social fluxuations of the city. Seeded plantings of native forest types increase the value of development zones and provide ecosystem services to the urban structure. Rather than a simple concrete edge, a functional riverfront creates habitat for native species and provides ecosystem services, such as runoff filtering and water retention, to the urban structure. Natural river fluxuations increase biodiversity and create a system with a high degree of ecosystem function. Temporary flooding creates disturbance in plant communities and in this way the landscape is grown rather than installed.