Post-Industrial Seascape: Phytoremediation of Paljassaare Harbour

Human impact on our ecosystems is clearly reflected in the poor health of the Baltic Sea. This project proposes a strategy to turn a post-industrial harbour in Tallinn into a new urban space. To accomplish that, it applies phytoremediation – a type of bioremediation technology that uses plants to clean up contamination from the environment – to urban planning. From mapping the sea to designing pathways, the project speculates how phytoremediation could play a role in shaping our surroundings and spreading environmental awareness. As a result of treating the landscape as a dynamic system, it is transformed from a closed polluted site into an everyday space, which different stakeholders can shape and embrace over time. The proposed strategy, mutually beneficial to nature and humans, could also be applied to the transformation of other similar sites along the coast of the Baltic Sea.