The outcome of urbanization on waterways is well described as the urban stream syndrome. Community acceptance can have profound impacts on the success of waterway restoration interventions, and a successful urban waterway manager must maintain a functional relationship with the community over time to be successful. However, community values (and acceptance) are dynamic over time, community values may conflict with waterway manager’s objectives and mandates, and the manager’s understanding of the waterway may evolve. Although the mechanisms for public organization strategic planning are well defined in the foundational literature, we propose a new conceptual model for urban waterway strategic planning as one mechanism to organize a sustained, systematic approach that effectively integrates the community, academia, waterway monitoring, and intervention decision making, building on lessons learned from successful international case studies. Accredited Agency: Fairfax County, VA Department of Public Works and Environmental Services

After this session, participants will be better able to:
• Develop a systematic approach to urban waterway management that integrates community values and academic knowledge in a process that can be sustained over time.
• Use lessons learned from case studies of successful waterway managers in the United States and Australia to more efficiently implement a strategic waterway management framework.
• Effectively align waterway monitoring, best management practice identification, and the community to more efficiently use limited resources and maximize public acceptance.

Contributor/Source

Christopher Herrington-Director, Kimberly Horndeski-Executive Director

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