Waterfront Conference
2026 Waterfront Conference. Credit: Elyse Mertz.The Waterfront Conference is a leading gathering focused on the future of waterfronts, shorelines, and coastlines.
Each year, it convenes a growing network of policymakers, practitioners, community leaders, designers, engineers, researchers, and advocates to exchange ideas and advance practical solutions for resilient, accessible, and thriving waterfronts.
With record-breaking participation in its most recent year, the conference reflects a deep and expanding commitment to confronting today’s climate, infrastructure, and equity challenges through collaboration across sectors.
Hosted by the Waterfront Alliance on the shores of New York Harbor, it is a space where strategies are shared, partnerships are built, and work moves from concept to implementation.
The Waterfront Conference brings together the people and ideas shaping what comes next for our waterfronts.
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Upcoming Waterfront Conference
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BlueTech Expo
Any entity engaging in innovation in technology, energy, the living ocean, maritime, supply chain, shipping, engineering, architecture, and planning, are invited to showcase their cutting–edge work in BlueTech. Gain recognition as an innovator by sharing concepts, ideas, experience, and research with our cross-cutting multi-sector audience. Stay tuned for tabling opportunities in 2027.
BlueTech ExpoWaterfront Scholars
The Waterfront Scholars program is an integral component of the Waterfront Conference. The goal of the Waterfront Scholars program is to inspire, train, and educate the next generation of waterfront leaders; each year, we welcome up to 100 undergraduate and graduate students as official Scholars to join us for a day of learning and networking, including programming tailored for them.
Past Conferences
View details about our past Waterfront Conferences, including photos and videos of the keynote addresses and panels.
2026
2026 Waterfront Conference
May 19, 2026
Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
36 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280Future-Proofing Our Waterfronts
Keynote Speakers:Dror Benshetrit, 2026 Heather Morgan Lecturer
2026 Waterfront Conference
2026 Waterfront Conference
2026 Waterfront Conference
2026 Waterfront Conference
2025
2025 Waterfront Conference
May 13, 2025
Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
36 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280Committed to Progress: The Way Forward for Waterfronts and Coastlines
Keynote Speakers:KONGJIAN YU, 2025 Heather Morgan Lecturer
2025 Waterfront Conference
2025 Waterfront Conference
2025 Waterfront Conference
2025 Waterfront Conference
2024
2024 Waterfront Conference
May 21, 2024
Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
36 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280DESIGNING FOR TOMORROW: The Multisector Approach to Resilience
2024 Waterfront Conference
2024 Waterfront Conference
2024 Waterfront Conference
2024 Waterfront Conference
2023
2023 Waterfront Conference
May 8, 2023
Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
36 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280THE IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGE
Climate solutions for all communities, sectors, and systems2022
2022 Waterfront Conference
May 24, 2022
Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
36 Battery Place, Lower ManhattanHow can we prepare for the climate future while sustaining a strong regional economy, supporting a crucial maritime industry, expanding equitable waterfront access, and ensuring a healthy environment? Waterfront Alliance’s 15th annual Waterfront Conference—Meet the Moment: Building a Livable Future—tackled this critical multi-part question in a series of panel discussions and workshops. Returning as an in-person event for the first time in two years, the Waterfront Conference presented experts from a wide range of disciplines speaking about the ways forward in economic development, infrastructure, social equity, resilience, and the natural world, and acknowledging that infusions of federal and state funding offer a once–in–a–generation opportunity for transformation. In 2022, we honored the legacy of climate risk adaptation expert and friend of Waterfront Alliance, Heather M. Morgan, by launching the Heather M. Morgan Climate Risk Adaptation Lecture Series. As well, the 2022 conference presented the inaugural BlueTech Expo, where companies exhibited innovative technologies bringing sustainability to water-related businesses. The day-long event offered an exceptional learning and networking experience to individuals of all backgrounds.
Keynote Speakers:Dr. Christian Braneon, Ph.D, Co-Director, Environmental Justice & Climate, Just Cities Network at The Earth Institute; Kizzy Charles-Guzman, Executive Director, NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice
2022 Waterfront Conference
2022 Waterfront Conference
2022 Waterfront Conference
2022 Waterfront Conference
2021
2021 Waterfront Conference
May 10, 2021
Virtually on Whova
In 2021, we found our communities, our institutions, and our perspectives—the very foundations of our lives—at the crossroads of change. We have a choice going forward: our experience of 2020 can catalyze paths that forge a new future, or it can solidify familiar ways of doing business.
The 2021 Waterfront Conference took a look at changes in climate, design, renewable energy, community, New York Harbor, the maritime industry, and ecological conservation that are profound and also promising.
In May 2021, nearly 650 attendees participated in the conversations and collaborations at the Waterfront Conference, to help bring new, urgent insight to achieving a 21st-century waterfront that is resilient, supports good jobs, and is open to all.
Keynote Speakers:Colin Rusch, Head of Sustainable Growth & Resource Optimization at Oppenheimer and Julian Brave NoiseCat, Vice President of Policy & Strategy with Data for Progress
2021 Waterfront Conference
2021 Waterfront Conference
2021 Waterfront Conference
2021 Waterfront Conference
2020
2020 Waterfront Conference
Date TBD
Due to COVID-19, the 2020 Waterfront Conference was brought to attendees virtually from New York City.
In 2020, Waterfront Alliance pivoted its annual conference and in-person events to widely popular virtual engagements. Three timely, topical, and dynamic Deep Dives webinar events culminated in Waterfront Alliance’s Regional Symposium. The package of hard-hitting policy panel discussions and speakers was in lieu of our annual, in-person 2020 Waterfront Conference, originally scheduled for May 12, 2020.
April 15, 2020 – Resilience on the Waterways: COVID-19, Supply-Chains, and Local Maritime Ports
April 22, 2020 – The Role of Risk Analysis and Assessment in Post-Pandemic Life
April 29, 2020 – U.S. Army Corps Preparedness Strategies: From Climate to COVID-19
May 4, 2020 – Rise to Resilience: The Climate’s Changing, Shouldn’t We?
January 14, 2021 – Regional Symposium: Resilience and Recovery in a New Era
Keynote Speakers:Michael Stamatis, Red Hook Terminals; Dr. Julie Pullen, Jupiter Intelligence; John Boulé, Dewberry
2019
2019 Waterfront Conference
May 7, 2019
Aboard the Hornblower Infinity
Hudson River Park, Pier 40, New York, NYThe 2019 Waterfront Conference—Rising Seas, Rising Risks— discussed progress on major resiliency projects and climate change adaptations from across the New York and New Jersey metropolitan region while assessing the challenges and opportunities for better preparedness.
Keynote Speakers:Bill Solecki, Ph. D., CUNY—Hunter College, Co-Chair New York City Panel on Climate Change
Chuck Nice, Comedian
Costa Constantinides, New York City Council Member, Chair, Environmental Protection Committee
Comptroller Scott M. Stringer
2019 Waterfront Conference
2019 Waterfront Conference
2019 Waterfront Conference
2019 Waterfront Conference
2018
2018 Waterfront Conference
May 8, 2018
Aboard the Hornblower Infinity
Hudson River Park, Pier 40, New York, NYThe 2018 Waterfront Conference—Cities on the Edge—explored how local and municipal leaders in New York City and coastal cities throughout the U.S. are leading the response to adapting to climate change.
Keynote Speakers:Gale A. Brewer, Manhattan Borough President
2018 Waterfront Conference
2018 Waterfront Conference
2018 Waterfront Conference
2017
2017 Waterfront Conference
May 10, 2017
Aboard the Hornblower Infinity
Hudson River Park, Pier 40, New York, NYThe 2017 Waterfront Conference previewed the Waterfront Alliance’s new Harbor Scorecard and explored how we measure the resiliency, health, and accessibility of our waterfronts. The plenary session and keynote speakers addressed the question of our time: how change in Washington will undoubtedly affect our waterfronts and how we can work together to address the uncertain future ahead.
Keynote Speakers:Bill de Blasio, Mayor, New York City and Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez, Member of Congress
2017 Waterfront Conference
2017 Waterfront Conference
2017 Waterfront Conference
2016
2016 Waterfront Conference
May 12, 2016
Aboard the Hornblower Infinity
Hudson River Park, Pier 40, New York, NYThe 2016 Waterfront Conference explored the theme of defining and delivering equity at the waterfront. The conference provided a platform for participants to debate the future of our region’s waterfronts, tackling the challenges to defining and delivering equitable access to jobs, education, transportation, and recreation at the water’s edge.
Keynote Speakers:Maria Torres-Springer, president and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation with Michael Sorkin, director of the Graduate Urban Design Program at The City College and president of Terreform, the Center for Advanced Urban Research
2016 Waterfront Conference
2016 Waterfront Conference
2016 Waterfront Conference
2016 Waterfront Conference
2015
2015 Waterfront Conference
May 7, 2015
Aboard the Hornblower Infinity
Hudson River Park, Pier 40, New York, NYThe theme of the 2015 Waterfront Conference was Shaping Your 21st Century Waterfront and included topics such as integrating ferry service into the mass transit network, preserving jobs at the working waterfront, and implementing greener shorelines. The plenary session highlighted Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement earlier in the year for the creation of a publicly subsidized, five-borough ferry network, to complement the needs of a growing city. For the first time we offered an interactive breakout session, which explored the City’s ongoing Coney Island Creek Tidal Barrier and Wetlands Feasibility Study.
Keynote Speakers:Timothy Beatley, Ph.D., author, Blue Urbanism: Exploring Connections between Cities and Oceans; Teresa Heinz, Professor of Sustainable Communities, School of Architecture, University of Virginia
2015 Waterfront Conference
2015 Waterfront Conference
2015 Waterfront Conference
2014
2014 Waterfront Conference
April 24, 2014
Aboard the Hornblower Infinity
Hudson River Park, Pier 40, New York, NYThe theme of the 2014 Waterfront Conference was Rebuilding Our Waterfront: From the Water In, From the Grassroots Up. The conference placed a special focus on the remarkable grassroots, community-based waterfront plans developed before and after Superstorm Sandy, and took an early look at the de Blasio administration’s approach to waterfront policy.
Keynote Speakers:Chris Ward, Executive Vice President, Dragados
2014 Waterfront Conference
2014 Waterfront Conference
2014 Waterfront Conference
2013
2013 Waterfront Conference
April 9, 2013
Aboard the Hornblower Infinity
Hudson River Park, Pier 40, New York, NYThe 2013 Waterfront Conference featured, for the first time, a forum for all major candidates for mayor of New York City. Each gave his or her vision of what our waterfront will look like in the decades to come, and how to make our shoreline more resilient in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.
Keynote Speakers:Seth Pinsky, president, New York City Economic Development Corporation
2013 Waterfront Conference
2013 Waterfront Conference
2013 Waterfront Conference
2012
2012 Waterfront Conference
May 18, 2012
Chelsea Piers and Frying Pan
Hudson River Park, New York, NYNew York City Deputy Mayors Robert K. Steel and Caswell F. Holloway joined the 2012 Waterfront Conference to assess the New York region’s waterfront revitalization, and to plan ways to continue this historic economic and environmental transformation.
Keynote Speakers:Joshua Laird, assistant commissioner for planning & parklands, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation
2012 Waterfront Conference
2012 Waterfront Conference
2012 Waterfront Conference
2011
2011 Waterfront Conference
May 16, 2011
Aboard The Spirit of New Jersey
Pier 61, New York, NYThe 2011 Waterfront Conference focused on a plan for the governance of our waterfront, using the newly released Vision 2020: New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan and the Hudson-Raritan Estuary Comprehensive Restoration Plan as a guide.
Keynote Speakers:Representatives Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler, Paul Tonko, and Nydia Velázquez
2011 Waterfront Conference
2011 Waterfront Conference
2011 Waterfront Conference
2010
2010 Waterfront Conference
November 30, 2010
National Museum of the American Indian
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House
One Bowling Green, New York, NYThe 2010 Waterfront Conference gave powerful insights and best practices from along the East Coast to galvanize support, build energy and excitement, and continue the momentum needed to create a world class waterfront and harbor for New York and New Jersey.
2010 Waterfront Conference
2010 Waterfront Conference
2010 Waterfront Conference
2008
2008 Waterfront Conference
November 13, 2008
The National Museum of the American Indian
One Bowling Green, New York, NYThe 2008 Waterfront Conference addressed pressing questions facing the region’s waterfront, including: Will our economy be diversified with good paying maritime jobs? Will the water be clean enough for recreation and wildlife? Will all in the metropolitan area have access to the water and be able to play and learn at the water’s edge?
2008 Waterfront Conference
2008 Waterfront Conference
2008 Waterfront Conference
2008 Waterfront Conference
