On a site that has transformed from open water to a tidal mudflat to a dredged, filled, armored, contaminated port, there are forces in direct and apparent opposition. Efficiency of shipping routes pushes against public access to views of Commencement Bay. Chemical contamination and legacy pollutants constrain animal life cycles and habitat creation. Industrial development compresses and fragments original Puyallup tribal territory. Constant sedimentation must be countered with periodic dredging. Desire for public access is in tension with security.
Concept: tangled, plural site narratives
“The search for scientific bases for confronting problems of social policy is bound to fail, because of the nature of these problems. They are ‘wicked’ problems, whereas science has developed to deal with ‘tame’ problems…It makes no sense to talk about optimal solutions.”
-Rittel and Webber, “Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning”