This article examines the factors influencing the adaptive reuse of post-industrial waterfront areas, emphasizing the strategic role of culture and water-related location contexts in revitalization processes. The study aims not only to identify enabling and inhibiting conditions of post-industrial transformation, but also to develop recommendations for planning, governance, and policy-making that support socially inclusive and sustainable regeneration. Using a comparative qualitative analysis of three European case studies – the Gdańsk Shipyard (Poland), the Ostiense district in Rome (Italy), and the Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam (the Netherlands) – the research explores the role of governance models, planning instruments, heritage protection regimes, ownership structures, cultural and creative industries. The findings show that waterfront location alone does not guarantee successful or inclusive transformation. Effective regeneration depends on integrated governance, long-term planning frameworks, institutional continuity, and active public-sector involvement, while fragmented ownership and market-driven development intensify gentrification and limit social accessibility. The article contributes to debates on heritage-led regeneration and offers transferable recommendations for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment under conditions of increasing development pressure and climate change.
Anna Rubczak (Thu,) studied this question.
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