Enlivening the riverbanks in the city centre
About this good practice
Tartu is a city built on the Emajõgi River with a busy riverside (markets, traders, etc) throughout history. However, during the WWII the riverside was heavily bombed, and the riverside was literally empty with green areas ever since. Even though the far end of town hall square reaches the riverbank.
Together with the emerging number of cafes and bars in the city centre the demand to also enliven the riverside sections of the city centre gradually increased.
The development started with a few pop-up bars in 2017 and it was followed by a call for proposals to set up semi-permanent bars/cafes for three years during the period 2021-2023.
The action has completely changed the pattern of spending free time in the city centre, especially in summertime, when the riverside bars and cafes offer a great alternative with nice views and breeze.
The main stakeholders of the development works were the city government, tourism promotion organisations of Tartu and local accommodation service providers, who saw the potential of the unused areas in the city centre. Currently, both the inhabitants of and visitors of Tartu alike can enjoy the new places by the riverside, which are popular both during the daytime and warm summer nights.
Resources needed
To set up the practice, the city government had to organise the tender and allocate approximately 60 000 EUR for creating new communications to the newly established bars and cafes, as the area used to be a green area without major communications (water, electricity, etc).
Evidence of success
An estimated 95 000 customers have visited the new riverside bars and cafes, both in 2021 and 2022.
Potential for learning or transfer
The practice can be replicated or at least partly used by any city or region that is interested in enlivening the areas of a city that are in a walking distance from the main tourism attractions, but do not provide facilities for (outdoor) eating and drinking.
The practice does not require significant financial resources, thus the likelihood of having a clearly visible return on investment (the time and money invested) is high. However, the project needs a clear vision and transparent process to attract creative and attractive solutions.