Others have been redeveloped to include housing, offices and even green space.
But as places like the Ferry Building have been redeveloped, drawing large crowds, wharf leaders determined that revitalization could not be put off any longer.
Many of the older industrial districts immediately to the south of the river, including a commercial centre in the Saint-Sever district, have been redeveloped.
So far about 215 properties have been redeveloped in Manhattan and more than 200 in Brooklyn, including a few that were turned into condominiums.
With the consolidation of shipping terminals into major locations such as Felixstowe, smaller docks from Liverpool to London have been redeveloped for housing and leisure.
Some have been redeveloped into housing or shopping centers, but dozens, including a National Gypsum plant on Spicer Avenue that has been declared a federal Superfund site, remain empty shells.
Over the past decade, large parts of Britain's cities have been redeveloped as privately-owned estates, extending corporate control over some of the country's busiest squares and thoroughfares.
Those who get help with the rent are obliged to find work and will eventually be evicted if they do not.Renée Glover, head of the Atlanta Housing Authority, boasts that crime has dropped by 90% or more in all the projects that have been redeveloped in this way.
However, over recent decades, previously industrial – and subsequently derelict – waterfront spaces have been redeveloped into urban spaces which are emblematic of postindustrial urbanism.
Since then, the famous venue's square has been rotated through 90 degrees to prevent the sun from setting behind the bowler's arm, while many areas of the ground have been redeveloped, with the old pavilion refurbished and new stands and a large conference centre constructed.
