Coastal and Marine Management - Assignment Example

Coastal and Marine Management al Affiliation What are the current notable working waterfront uses, and what is the importance of each Working waterfronts provide critical access for water-dependent activities. The presence of the water body works to diversify fun activities at the waterfront. Many visitors come to tour the waterfronts to enjoy swimming, fishing, boat ridding among a host of other fun activities. It is evident that most of these visitors live far away from water bodies and getting to the waterfront gives them a unique experience and privilege of a new environment. For this reason, water-dependent activities have served to attract both foreign and local tourists to the shores and subsequently helped build the economy of the coastal communities. During the summer holidays, there is a great influx of visitors and the diversity of the activities at the waterfront works to keep them entertained and prompts them to make return visits. It provides space for business activities such as loading and offloading materials from the shores. The significance of these activities is that they generate income for the residents and the country at large. When accounting for the ripple effects, it becomes evident that the waterfronts have contributed immensely to generating employment hence improving the standards of living in the neighboring regions at the coastline. Ocean-related activities along the U.S. coastal counties, for instance, has provided employment for up to 6.75 million youths across the state working in commercial ports with thriving working waterfronts (“National Working Waterfront Network,” 2006). Working waterfronts have been used as sites for social gathering, concerts and merry-making. This has been very instrumental more so for the coastal communities who have a culture of holding joint festivals, celebrations and firework displays. The waterfront has also provided a platform for such activities that seek to promote culture, traditions and a spirit of brotherhood and teamwork. The activities have also attracted foreigners and potential investors who come to the coast shores to witness the celebrations. The coastal communities hence stand to benefit from the presence of a working waterfront. Provide a platform of thriving economic activities. Individuals mostly from the coastal communities have a platform to undertake diverse economic activities. They essentially stand to benefit from the large number of people visiting the waterfront at any given time. Some of the economic activities that have been inspired by the presence of the waterfront include marine construction, collection of offshore minerals and precious stones for sale, ship and boat building and repair, marine transportation, selling ornaments and corals to visiting groups. These economic activities have made many youths who were idling in the streets find something of economic significance to do. Consequently, the economic activities have led to the growth of market centers and towns in regions with actively working waterfronts. Furthermore, such activities have promoted the long-term prosperity of coastal communities and their working waterfronts (“National Working Waterfront Network,” 2006). With the exponential growth of these coastal towns, investors have been attracted from across the globe to explore the economic potential of these regions in viable sectors such as marine cargo shipping, commercial fishing as well as cruise ships for transportation as was exhibited on the waterfronts of Florida. Such extensive investments serve to bring new fortunes to the neighboring communities and a boost on their economic status (Patrick, 2013). Foreigners from all over the world come visiting the waterfronts and bring with them a diversity of culture, language and other social practices. These cultures are harmonized in the host community making them holistic. They are able to incorporate good aspects from other communities and utilize the same to establish a strong social system. However, there are possibilities that some cultures may corrupt the social practices and morals held by the coastal communities. This calls for the senior citizens and elders to safeguard their cultures and pass it on the subsequent generations to ensure that the good morals are upheld along with traditional practices and beliefs that define them. It is evident that the waterfront has brought good fortunes to the residents and communities living in coastal towns. There is hence need to conserve the current waterfronts and keep the environment sustainable for the future generations to benefit from it (“National Working Waterfront Network,” 2006). 2. What does a SWOT analysis show? In light of strengths, the working waterfront has a steady flow of visitors throughout the year. This makes it a viable economic ground for any business venture. Furthermore, it provides a platform that attracts investors from both the local and foreign market hence is self-sustaining. Its future prospects are high given those visitors at the site keep on growing exponentially. Weakness: the biggest hurdle is ascribed to the high maintenance costs that the waterfront requires on a periodic basis. Given the large numbers of visitors coming in at any given time, there is need for regular maintenance to keep the waterfront working in season and out of season. There is an evident need to implement policies that will work to protect and conserve resources at the front. Opportunity: the economic potential of the waterfront has not been fully exhausted and for this reason, there are many opportunities at the community’s disposal. The zoning of waterfronts has served to demonstrate that there are areas that have not realized their full economic potential. For example, the Portland and Maine has been able to exploit more commercial spaces through the zoning of the waterfront. Threats; possible threats to the waterfront have been the many recreational amenities that offer competitive facilities for fun and relaxation on private beaches and restaurants. These ventures situated close to the coastline serve to provide high-class services, hence a threat to the waterfronts as they share the same marketplace. The SWOT analysis provides critical information for the shareholders and business personalities who have invested in the waterfront. The analysis can hence be used to make crucial decisions meant to reinforce the waterfront’s competitive advantage over potential competitors (Cooper, 2012). References Cooper, L.G. (2012). Strategic Marketing Planning for Radically New Products, Journal Of Marketing, 64, 1, pp. 1-16. National Working Waterfront Network (2006, March). The Sustainable Working Waterfronts Toolkit. Retrieved from: http://api.ning.com/files/ECapeI07GToOqbwpFZQeBryYvdCkjSEe9qnVCkB3EiK8BJ*1NG5NhkgF2deuC1zNExbe*pq0PjgdGdCLPN8WE8FcCPhOQutH/EDAFinalReport32113.pdf National Working Waterfront Network. (n.d.). Retrieved July 17, 2015. http://www.wateraccessus.com/toolkit.html Patrick, H. S. (2013). Effective Coastal Marine Management. Washington DC: George Washington University Read More