The Causeway, the Landfill, and the River: shaping Moncton's Environs

by Macleod, Michaela

The decommissioned Riverside Landfill, located on the Petitcodiac River in Moncton, New Brunswick, has been closed for over ten years. Lack of proper dumping and closure procedures has left the ground and the water surrounding the site contaminated. The waterfront, shaped by the processes of industry and hydrology remains a neglected space within the city.

The river's edge was once the main focal point of activity and interest of the city, facilitating more than 250 meters of public wharves along its riverbank. The exploratory design is for a new park that will restore ecological integrity of the river and introduce the individual scale to the landscape, while revitalizing its spirit within the city. Initially in the study, the site is mapped in relation to the region, the province, the city, the urban fabric, and the landscape. Considering the river's hydrology and the landfill's toxicity, the project aims to weave the degraded site back into the natural and cultural patterns that exist in the larger scale of the region.

Public spaces can no longer derive their form solely from economic or aesthetic doctrines. They must be developed with an understanding of natural process and used to regenerate the cityscape. The formal order shaping the park will be founded on the process of bioremediation. Additive and subtractive, cultural and biological processes are implemented over time to transform the terrain. Artificial and natural become inseparable, and develop a new relationship between urban systems, natural process, and public space.

Ongoing monitoring and management of the site will allow evolving adaptations of the project and support complexity and change.