Mobile, Mobile (FUA), United States
City population: 431472
Duration: 2022 – ongoing
Implementation status: Ongoing
Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Project area: unknown
Type of area: Industrial, Other
Last updated: March 2025

Brookley by the Bay is a 98-acre new waterfront park project along Mobile Bay's western shore (Ref 1). The park aims to reconnect people with the Mobile waterfront and coastal ecosystem (Ref 2). The area, once an abundant mosaic of tidal marshes, forested wetlands, and shallow lagoons, became a port, leading residents to lose contact with the natural landscape (Ref 2). The park serves both recreational and environmental purposes, aiming to create and restore areas that enhance habitat resilience and allow coastal ecosystems to thrive (Ref 1). It features sports facilities, including kayaking, volleyball, golf, and biking, along with social gathering and educational spaces such as an amphitheatre lawn, a performance pavilion, and picnic tables (Ref 3, Images 1-3). The park provides safe and equitable access for all Mobile residents to nature, beaches, tree canopies, open fields, and varied shorelines, all connected by pedestrian and bike lanes (Ref 2). The project also focuses on habitat enhancement and restoration for biodiversity (Ref 3, Images 1 & 4), as well as flood protection through shoreline get-downs, vegetated edges (Image 4), and undulating berms and swales that serve as a layered protection system against stormwater and coastal flooding (Ref 2). The development of Brookley by the Bay was guided by input from over 300 community members (Ref 1), local stakeholder organizations, and project partners, with the goal of establishing a more resilient, accessible, and enduring space for generations to come (Ref 2).

Image showing the social gathering facilities and nature restoration in the Brookley by the Bay project
Image showing the social gathering facilities and nature restoration in the Brookley by the Bay project
https://www.cityofmobile.org/brookleybythebay accessed in21/08/2024

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Parks and urban forests
  • Large urban parks or forests

Key challenges

  • Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Coastal resilience and marine protection (SDG 14)
  • Coastal protection / hazard mitigation
  • Marine and coastal biodiversity protection
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Habitat and biodiversity restoration
  • Regeneration, land-use and urban development
  • Conversion of former industrial areas
  • Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
  • Water management (SDG 6)
  • Flood protection
  • Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
  • Preservation of natural heritage
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Creation of opportunities for recreation
  • Enabling opportunities for physical activity
  • Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
  • Inclusive governance

Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)

  • Climate-Related Hazards
  • Coastal flooding
  • Sea level rise
  • Environmental Degradation
  • Biodiversity loss
  • Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
  • Disconnection from nature

Key priorities

Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration)

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Creation of large parks and urban and peri-urban forests, Creation of semi-natural blue areas, Implementation of green areas for water management (e.g. rain gardens), Coastal landscape management or protection, Improving coastal resilience, Protection of natural ecosystems, Habitat restoration, Marine and coastal conservation initiatives, Transformation of previously derelict areas, Post-industrial site regeneration

Project objectives

1) To reconnect people with the Mobile waterfront and coastal ecosystem (Ref 2). 2) To create new green space to enhance access to urban nature for the residentsof Mbile (Ref 2) 2) To provide access to recreational opportunities to the residents (Ref 2) including sport facilities, social gathering spaces and cultural spaces (Ref 3) 3) To restore areas that enhance habitat resilience and allow coastal ecosystems to thrive (Ref 1). 4) To contribute to flood protection against stormwater and coastal flooding (Ref 2)

Implementation activities

1) creation of a 98-acre (396 592 m2) waterfront park (reconversion of a former airport and industrial facilities area) 2) creation of sports facilities: kayaking, volleyball (Ref 3, Image 3), golf, and biking (Ref 3, Image 2) 3) Create social gathering and educational spaces: an amphitheater lawn, performance pavilion (Ref 3, Image 1), and picnic tables (Ref 3, Image 2). 4) restoration of nature: reforestation, open fields, and varied shorelines (Ref 3) 5) creation of pedestrian and bike lanes (Ref 3) 6) implementation of habitat enhancement and restoration for biodiversity: meadow restoration, ensuring delta diversity and wetland migration (Ref 3, Image 1, Image 4) 7) flood protection infrastructures: wave attenuation, shoreline get-downs, vegetated edges (Image 4), and undulating berms and swales (Ref 2)

Climate-focused activities

Climate change adaptation:

  • Restore mangroves, marshes, reefs and wetlands to dissipate the effects of storms and floodwaters
  • Protect and restore coastal ecosystems, to address loss of land and livelihoods, due to rising sea levels
Communities vulnerable to environmental hazards or climate change impacts
Yes

Specification of climate or environmentally vulnerable communities

Coastal communities

Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities

Biodiversity restoration:

  • Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
  • Restore ecological connectivity

Main beneficiaries

  • Citizens or community groups

Governance

Management set-up

  • Government-led

Type of initiating organisation

  • Local government/municipality

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
  • Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The City of Mobile: lead the project (Ref 1) Partnered with the private sector (Ref 1): - SCAPE architecture studio - Volkert - Moffatt & Nichol - Thompson Engineering The planning was guided by input from community members, local stakeholder organizations, and project partners (Ref 3), more than 300 community members (Ref 1) Fundings (Ref 3) - GOMESA (The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act ) (National government) has provided funding for the purchase of the park site - National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Gulf Environmental Benefit Funds (NGO) were used to purchase and protect the surrounding wetlands through a conservation easement - the City of Mobile is providing park design funds

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Unknown
... a local policy or strategy? Unknown

Type of enablers

Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships), Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city)

Financing

Total cost

More than €4,000,000

Source(s) of funding

  • Public local authority budget
  • Public national budget
  • Corporate investment
  • Funds provided by non-governmental organization (NGO)

Type of funding

  • Earmarked public budget
  • Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Non-financial contribution

Unknown

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Climate change
  • Increased protection against sea level rise
  • Expected increased protection against sea level rise
  • Storm / wave induced erosion and flooding
  • Expected storm / wave induced erosion and flooding
  • Enhanced protection against extreme weather events (e.g. storms, cyclones, tidal surges, coastal erosion)
  • Expected enhanced protection against extreme weather events (e.g. storms, cyclones, tidal surges, coastal erosion)
  • Environmental quality
  • Improved protection against strong wind
  • Expected improved protection against strong wind
  • Water management and blue areas
  • Increased protection against flooding
  • Expected increased protection against flooding
  • Improved stormwater management
  • Expected improved stormwater management
  • Enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
  • Expected enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased green space area
  • Achieved increased green space area
  • Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
  • Expected increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
  • Reduced biodiversity loss
  • Expected reduced biodiversity loss

Economic impacts

  • Unknown

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Improved access to urban green space
  • Expected improved access to urban green space
  • Increased opportunities for social interaction
  • Expected increased opportunities for social interaction
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
  • Expected gain in activities for recreation and exercise
  • Cultural heritage and sense of place
  • Protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
  • Expected protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
  • Education
  • Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
  • Expected increased knowledge of locals about local nature

Type of reported impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs

Unknown

References

1.
CityofMobile.com (n.d.). Brookley by the Bay - CityofMobile.com. Mobile, Al: CityofMobile.com, p. 2 Accessed on August 21, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Scapestudio.com (n.d.). Brookley by the Bay - Scapestudio.com. Mobile, Al: Scapestudio.com, p. 2 Accessed on August 21, 2024,;
3.
VOLKERT, Scape Studio, City of Mobile (n.d.). Brookley by the Bay - A COLLECTIVE VISION FOR THE CITY OF MOBILE'S LARGEST WATERFRONT PARK. Mobile, Al: VOLKERT, Scape Studio, City of Mobile, p. 59 Accessed on August 21, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Data.census.gov (n.d.). Demographics Mobile - Data.census.gov. Mobile, Al: Data.census.gov, Accessed on August 21, 2024, [Source link];
Skyview of the Brookley by the Bay project
Skyview of the Brookley by the Bay project
https://www.cityofmobile.org/brookleybythebay accessed on 210/08/2024
Image showing the sport facilities in the Brookley by the Bay project
IImage showing the sport facilities in the Brookley by the Bay project
https://www.cityofmobile.org/brookleybythebay accessed on 21/08/2024
Image showing the shoreline protection in the Brookley by the Bay project
Image showing the shoreline protection in the Brookley by the Bay project
https://www.cityofmobile.org/brookleybythebay accessed on 21/08/2024
naturescapes bannerInformation about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.