A New Frontier for Urban Revitalization: Creeks

Kevin Williams reports for the New York Times of a trend among private developers and public officials toward recognizing the economic development potential of long-neglected creeks and waterways.

The example of Wolf Creek in Trotwood, Ohio opens the article. "A former rail line along the creek has been converted into a bike path, and on warm spring days, cyclists pedal under the shade of sycamores," according to Williams.

Smaller waterways like Wolf Creek offer their own unique challenges when compared to the economic development surrounding the waterfronts along larger rivers, according to the article. Some residents don't realize that new amenities have been added along creeks, for example, but there are also wide swings in the amount of water flowing through small creeks—a variability exacerbated by climate change, according to the article.

The article discusses a variety of challenges and lessons from small cities that have already chosen a creek-oriented approach to economic development. Among the experts cited in the article is Bill Becker, a climate change expert and former Department of Energy official and author of the book, The Creeks Will Rise. In particular, Bill Becker warns that 100-year and 500-year flood maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency might not go far enough in defining post-climate change risk.

"Past isn’t prologue anymore," says Becker in the article.