The city of Catania is currently characterized by a lack of contact with the sea. The existing railway infrastructure runs along the coast of the city, acting as a barrier between the city and the Mediterranean. A new infrastructure project proposes redirecting the rail lines crossing the city underground, opening up areas along the coast for new uses. Our proposal was to reunite the city with the sea by creating a new sequence of urban spaces. The proposal stitches together the existing urban structure with the coastline in a zig-zag pattern, creating open public spaces along the coast and along new inner urban promenades using the existing axes and squares as guides. The new waterfront will be accessible, ecological and cultural.
Along the new border between city and sea, a diverse typology of new open spaces is proposed: a green linear park along the existing railway lines, a "low line“ promenade by the sea, a "high line" park in the existing arched railway bridge, and new pedestrian, multifunctional spaces in the port area. New neighborhood development areas are also proposed along the coast. For the ecological vision, a new series of futuristic renewable energy sources are proposed along the coast: floating solar islands, wave energy gathering, and wind energy. The waterfront is punctuated with cultural elements (museums, multifunctional cultural spaces, and new metro, train and marine traffic stations) that are integrated with the existing cultural spaces to create a new sequence of urban highlights.
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