How Do Planners Engage with Regenerative Design and Development
Principles in Urban River Restoration Projects? Insights from the
Kinnickinnic River (WI) and the Los Angeles River (CA)
Genevieve Pearthree | 2018
MS Scientific Paper | School of Sustainability | Arizona State University

Introduction
The world’s urban population, which already exceeds 50% of the global population, is expected to
grow quickly. In North America alone, more than 80% of residents already live in cities (United Nations
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2014). Urban planning and design play a crucial role in
determining how cities simultaneously create and address our most pressing environmental problems.
They also influence how residents interact with each other and surrounding ecosystems. In a rapidly
urbanizing world, opportunities for city dwellers to interact with natural systems are scarce.
Channelized rivers are a prime example of how urbanized infrastructure limits residents’ access to
environmental resources. River channelization in the U.S. aimed to reduce flooding, control river
channel migration, and open new land to development, but resulted in significant unintended
consequences. It destroyed riparian areas, made flooding more severe, and was costly to maintain.
For the past two decades, U.S. cities have reversed this approach and are restoring rivers (channelized
and not) to recapture lost ecological, social, and economic benefits. However, these projects are often
guided by the same mechanistic worldview that led to channelization in the first place, in which
humans are separate from—and can control—natural processes. This paper seeks to apply an
alternative conceptual framework—regenerative design and development—to river restoration. It
posits that cultural and psychological challenges are at the root of environmental problems (Mang,
2016); further, it states that successful, long-term urban restoration requires a shift in mindset and
design processes to recognize the dynamic nature of ecosystems, and humans’ integral role in fostering
ecosystem health.
Our research seeks to examine the degree to which river restoration projects engage with regenerative
design and development principles. We selected river restoration and, by extension, the field of urban
planning, as the test case for understanding the application of regenerative design and development.
Specifically, planners play important roles in interdisciplinary river restoration projects, and our
research explores the ways these professionals interact with the regenerative design and development
paradigm in their work. Do planners already engage with these principles in river restoration projects?
If so, in what way, and how can they further incorporate these principles? If not, what are the barriers?

To answer these, we briefly review literature on river restoration, regenerative design and
development, and critical planning challenges. We then examine 15 urban river restoration plans to
better understand common river restoration goals, drivers, and proposed projects. The bulk of our
research centers on two river restoration cases currently underway: the Kinnickinnic River in
Milwaukee, WI, and the Los Angeles River in Los Angeles, CA. These river projects were selected based
on several criteria, including the existence of a fully urbanized river, a similar restoration timeline, and
the presence of comprehensive plans that demonstrated the project’s intent to catalyze positive social,
economic, and environmental impacts along the river and in surrounding neighborhoods. We explore
the extent to which planners appear to engage with regenerative design and development principles in
each case, identify areas of improvement, and highlight barriers. We conclude with strategies to
promote these principles in river restoration projects and within broader planning practice.
This paper will begin with a brief literature review that provides the historical and contemporary
context for river restoration projects, identifies the role of urban planning within these projects, and
explores the potential for regenerative design and development to address existing gaps in the field.
We continue with an overview of research methods and results comparing both case studies. We
conclude with lessons learned, and areas of improvement.