Destination Corpus: A Terminal for Rail, Ferry, and Cruise
First our team hosted two community engagement events in Corpus Christi that attracted over 200 people, and helped the team gather qualitative research from a broad spectrum of the city’s residents (SEE VIDEO BELOW). In addition to co-facilitating group discussions I created a Water Bar serving different types of alkaline waters, to reinforce the threat of industry to the region's already weak potable water infrastructure. I also created an interactive map to track where the attendees lived in the region.
As individual teams we developed a design strategy based on the qualitative data gathered at the community engagements, resulting in a strategy to counterbalance industrial growth by developing Corpus Christi as a tourist destination. With the proposed high-speed rail lines connecting the cities of the “Texas Triangle,” building a high speed rail connection to San Antonio would empower the tourism and eco-tourism industries of the Coastal Bend Region.
This move would diversify the local economy, decrease its dependence on industry, and a ferry system connecting local tourist destinations would reinforce this move on a local level. Finally, establishing a cruise terminal would diversify the use of the ship channel, offer a more convenient boarding option for many residents in the Texas Triangle, and reinforce the local tourism industry. With the potential to reach over 4 million people, this high-speed rail extension and hybrid terminal has the ability to convert Corpus Christi into a passenger port destination for the Coastal Bend Region.
The ultimate goal of this project is to share all proposals with the community of the Corpus Christi Bay area in a panel-centric community engagement structure. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic this has been postponed, but is intended to be a public event including representatives from all stakeholders to generate a dialogue about the future of the Coastal Bend Region and how to start reconciling this tension between OIL and WATER.