Over the last 30 years, urban stream restoration has evolved from neighborhood and non-profit-led volunteer projects to full-scale public works projects.
Dr. Ann Riley, executive director of the Waterways Restoration Institute, explained this evolution of stream restoration in her 1998 book, Restoring Streams in Cities: A Guide for Policymakers, Planners, and Citizens.
Eighteen years later, she documents the path of six important projects in the San Francisco Bay area in her new book, Restoring Neighborhood Steams: Planning, Design and Construction.
Restoring Neighborhood Streams dives deep into the details. However, all of us who are involved in restoring urban habitats — from streams, creeks, to shorelines — will benefit from reviewing how communities started these projects, analyzed opportunities, and applied lessons learned. She tells stories about the projects, but also delves into engineering technologies.
Anyone involved in stream restoration can apply the ideas and results presented in the book to their urban green infrastructure projects.