Renewing Urban Creeks and Neighborhoods

Posted by on January 16, 2004

Announcement:

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council, the Philadelphia Water Department and the Fairmount Park Commission present:

?Renewing Urban Creeks and Neighborhoods — Making the Connection?

Date: Wednesday, January 28th from 4 to 6 pm

Location: The Franklin Institute (222 North 20th St, Philadelphia, PA 19103)

Please RSVP to Marissa Pappas of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council at 215-563-0250 x112 or via email to mpappas@pecphila.org by Thursday January 22nd.

Description: The Pennsylvania Environmental Council, the Philadelphia Water Department and the Fairmount Park Commission would like to invite you to a presentation on ?Renewing Urban Creeks and Neighborhoods — Making the Connection? on January 28th from 4 to 6:30 PM at the Franklin Institute. Throughout the country, the restoration of urban waterways and surrounding greenspace has played a key role in community revitalization and economic redevelopment. This presentation will address the techniques, processes and benefits of urban stream restoration.

Urbanization has not been kind to streams. As cities and the surrounding suburbs grew, streams were diverted, channelized, and used to convey waste and stormwater. Streams lost their beauty and their natural function. In many cases, they disappeared altogether as they were encased in pipes to become part of the sewer system. The streams in Philadelphia and the surrounding communities have not escaped these impacts. While segments of the streams still flow through the relatively natural settings, other parts have been severely altered by human impacts such as culverting, encased in pipes or are completely surrounded by buildings and paved areas. The restoration of urban streams is consistent with findings of the recently published Brookings Institution report ?Back to Prosperity: A Comprehensive Agenda for Renewing Pennsylvania?. One of the report?s key recommendations is large-scale reinvestment in older communities. Turning waterways that are now liabilities into community assets can be an important component.

The featured speaker will be Todd Moses, Senior Restoration Specialist in the Environmental Engineering Group for Skelly and Loy, Inc. Todd has 18 years of experience in stream restoration. Although he has worked on many wildland restoration projects, a major focus of Todd?s work has been in the settled landscapes of urban areas and farmlands. It is in such intensively managed areas, where so many land use constraints (and opportunities!) apply, that Todd has especially extensive design and construction experience.

Light refreshments will be provided. We hope you are able to attend.