Andrejsala is not an Island - Joined-up approaches to the layered city

Abstract

Andrejsala is, of course, not an island; true, this port and industrial area of Riga, and most recently the locus of a massive mixed-use regeneration proposal of housing, offices, retail, leisure and cultural facilities, was once the site of a shifting sandbar in the Daugava River. Since at least the late 1800s it has however been connected to the mainland, forming part of the river‟s eastern bank. In many other respects however Andrejsala is an island. Economically, it is one of a number of industrialised spaces which have historically fragmented the city‟s physical fabric. Simultaneously, projected on to it have been the objectives and ideologies of the various political powers that have ruled over the city; these projections have been conveyed through not only the ownership of the site and activities that have been prioritised or restricted, but equally through the area‟s perceived accessibility. This disparateness has been accentuated by the presence of a broad width of busy roadway and railroad tracks, which together have acted to distance Andrejsala despite its proximity to the city centre