Belfast's River Lagan is the main river that flows through the city. While significant investment over the past two decades has attempted to make the Lagan waterfront an exciting place to live, work, and play for many in Belfast, additional work needs to be done to connect people to the waterfront.

This project proposes infrastructure improvements to improve wildlife and pedestrian waterfront connectivity. Wildlife planning was undergone to establish a framework for waterfront planning and design. Existing wildlife species in and around Belfast were researched and mapped, and a focal species planning approach was employed to plan a proposed regional wildlife network. The proposed wildlife network identifies a priority wildlife corridor along the east bank of the River Lagan and a secondary wildlife corridor on the west bank. Design guidelines were written to articulate the character of these two corridors.

In tandem with this wildlife planning, four focus areas along River Lagan were analyzed and planned to improve pedestrian connectivity to the waterfront. A land use map overlaid with wildlife habitat zones and wildlife corridor features presents a comprehensive proposal for improved wildlife and civic planning. Of the four focus areas planned, a site design was proposed for the Belfast Central Railway Station site. The site design proposes a ramped park that extends over the existing railway platforms to connect the center city with the waterfront. It also proposes a pedestrian bridge over East Bridge Street, a day-lit railway station, transit village, waterfront activity center, and a backwater inlet to function as primary salmon breeding habitat.

I conceived and designed the project after a trip to the city in January, 2011.