Bridgeport, CT – For decades, Bridgeport’s sprawling waterfront—one of the longest in Connecticut—has been largely out of reach.
A history of underfunding and neglect has left 70% of it inaccessible, reinforcing racial and economic divisions that shape public access to both nature and city services.
Now, a team from the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources (CAHNR) at the University of Connecticut is working to reverse that.
Led by landscape architecture professors Jill Desimini and Sohyun Park, the initiative aims to reclaim two key sections of the city’s shoreline: a neglected downtown strip called the “sliver by the river” and the Yellow Mill Channel on the east side.
“The impact on the community will be huge,” Park said. “In the past, they did not have access to the waterfront, and now we are opening the access points and revitalizing some vacant land and public spaces to be more resilient and socially functioning.”
CAHNR undergraduate students, working in small groups, have drafted proposals that laid the groundwork for real-world changes.
The designs envision not just new walking paths, but also kayak launches, fishing areas, and public spaces.
They mapped out where to restore marshlands, introduce pollinator gardens, and carve out spaces for art installations, pop-up skate parks, and urban gardening projects.
The effort is gaining traction.
On the Yellow Mill side, planners have already begun integrating native plants and boosting accessibility at an existing waterfront park.
Further downtown, long-forgotten marshes north of the sliver by the river could soon help filter water, prevent erosion, and mitigate flooding.
For students involved in the project, the work carries weight beyond the classroom.
“It was a really exciting project to get to be a part of,” said Kayla Villareal, a CAHNR student. “Being able to see the evolution and implementation of past suggestions was extremely motivating and served as inspiration to the work produced by my cohort. The best part about the work we completed was seeing the impacts it could have in various communities in Connecticut, as well as other states in the future.”
The project has drawn backing from national organizations, including the Trust for Public Land, the National Park Service, and the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Local nonprofits like Groundwork Bridgeport are also on board.
Financial support comes from multiple sources, including grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Long Island Sound Futures Fund, and the National Coastal Resiliency Fund. The City of Bridgeport has also invested in the effort.
