Streams and rivers provide numerous ecosystem services that are critical for the health and sustainability of individuals and communities located along these waterways. Green infrastructure, such as the Central Iowa Water Trails Project, amplifies the role of waterways for mitigating against future extreme climate events and improving residents’ quality of life. However, there is a need to further understand how communities can engage in these efforts for more equitable outcomes. This project seeks to address the questions of how do communities interact with nearby waterways; and how can we value the ecosystem of the built and natural environment where they live?  

The project has the following objectives: 1) to understand the ways communities interact with nearby streams; 2) to investigate existing and potential future community-based strategies with the goal of reactivating spaces along rivers and streams; 3) to develop a model to quantify the social and ecological value of streams in urban communities and the added resilience provided by sustainable practices along waterways; 4) to develop a model for community engagement approaches on water-sensitive issues for a more sustainable environment.  

We look into two communities nearby river streams in East of Des Moines and East Jakarta (Indonesia). In Des Moines, the case study will focus on neighborhoods surrounding the Fourmile Creek, Des Moines. The Fourmile Creek Greenway, a naturalized corridor following the stream through most of the city, borders some of the most economically depressed neighborhoods of Greater Des Moines. In Jakarta, the case study will focus on communities surrounding a portion of the Cipinang stream (see Appendix B). The focus on two communities provides a novel comparison to systematically identify community-based approaches and its applications for future approaches in similar projects.