Reporting from Marghera and Other Waterfronts

Alejandro Aravena's suggestions for the 15th International Architecture Exhibition are particularly inspiring, especially when it comes to the image of the fron as the location of architects' daily battle to improve the quality of the built environment and thereby improve people's lives.
Etymologically, the term "front" refers to the presence of a line clearly separating two different entities that compete for control of the territory; in coastal cities, the fron might well represent the boundary line, physical rather than administrative, that strictly divides urban space from port space.
Historically, the presence of such a front along long strethces of coastline has partially deprived port cities of their relationship with the sea, often exacerbating phenomena of physical and social degradation in the urban areas closest to them.