Riverside Park Pier / New Smyrna Beach, Florida

This site lies within an Atlantic barrier-island estuary — a shallow, brackish lagoon shaped by tides and freshwater inflow. Oyster beds, sandbars, and mangroves define the shoreline, with palms and low-density homes set just beyond. A bridge links the mainland to the island, and a public pier supports fishing and boating. Ecology, infrastructure, and settlement exist here in close, ongoing balance.

A bridge frames the sky. Birds rise beneath in small coordinated bursts. Along the water, mangroves press toward the shoreline, their roots exposed in tight, anchored tangles. Oysters gather in pale, irregular mounds just below the surface. Sunlight bends across their shells in shifting patterns. The small waves roll with silt, then clear again.

A blimp passes slowly in the distance. A gull crosses beneath a light pole. Sailboats sit anchored in the channel, held by unseen lines. Palm fronds tilt in the breeze. Fishermen stand with their lines lowered on the wooden pier. A brown pelican drops and lifts as traffic hums across the bridge overhead.