From the Pearl of the Inner Harbor to Noah’s Ark: the transformation of National Aquarium in Baltimore

• In Event: Shaping Cities, Shaping Knowledge

Abstract

This paper aims to reinterpret the relationship between the ocean and cities in terms of the interaction between humans and nature. It explores the development of NAIB in the past 40 years, focusing on how it developed into a bright "pearl of the Inner Harbor" and how it actively transformed into "Noah's Ark". Based on this, it explores the relationship between urban renewal and marine ecological changes. The relationship between the city and the ocean is a central issue throughout the article. At the time of the aquarium's opening, it was hoped that Baltimore's maritime advantages would be used to boost the city's development. Since the ocean crisis and climate change have become the biggest threat to the sustainable development of Baltimore, people have begun to reintroduce the Marine ecosystem into the city, actively shrink the scope of urban expansion, and readjust the boundary between the city and the ocean. In addition, the National Aquarium has profoundly changed the relationship between people and marine animals, tourists have close contact with marine animals while visiting the aquarium, and their attitude towards them has changed from fear to love. Therefore, the aquarium's captivity has nurtured the power to oppose the captivity policy and safeguard the rights of animals, thus promoting the progress of the aquarium in animal conservation and environmental protection.

Author

• Weilan Ge, University of Florida