Salt of the Earth: Redeveloping Saskatoon’s Waterfront to Promote Heritage and Community

Abstract

Saskatoon’s development over the 20th century has severed the urban core from its river and potash mining has left a legacy of environmental degradation caused by salt waste. This thesis draws from Saskatoon’s origins as an integrated community to reconnect citizens to their river using urban landscape infrastructure. Focusing on interactions between actors, areas, and flows, it aims to reconnect industry, river and city at multiple scales. The design strategy proposes a shared language between existing programs such as a farmer’s market and river stewardship, and introduces complimentary programs such as a maker’s space and leisure activities to enrich the city’s relationship to its river and industrial past. It does not solve the problem of industrial waste, but raises public awareness through transforming waste into useful materials. It also aims to increase the river’s use as a civic amenity and contribute to altering perceptions about industry’s relationship to the city.