Focal Places in Burlington

The Burlington Waterfront

Burlington’s waterfront is a meeting place – between land and water, industrial history and recreational present, of human and natural communities. When walking the promenade boardwalk, or riding on the bike path, one experiences the culmination of a rich history of both human manipulation and nature’s processes. You are sharing this space with the plants and animals that use the area to access water and build dens and nests to raise young. The waterfront is the interface where ecosystems, industrial systems and cultural systems mingle together to create a rich interwoven legacy.

The waterfront is dynamic. Future planning, natural events and changing cultural values will morph the waterfront into new forms through the years. As you explore the story of the past and present, look also to the future to see how we can inform what the waterfront will become.

Start your exploration of Burlington's waterfront by going back in time by viewing the following short video produced by the graduate students in the course Place-based Landscape Analysis and Sustainability Education: