River Walks

Rivers are liquid highways that move people and goods and wildlife. They also provide sources of freshwater. When indigenous peoples settled the Americas, the rivers were pure and clean. With increased populations in urban areas, and industrialized mining and farming, Train lines overtook rivers and canals, and as refrigerated trucks and airlines expanded movement on the roads and in the air, cities turned their backs on their rivers. Do you have a river in your city? Have you ever visited it? can you access it? Americas’ Rivers report that over 40% of United States Rivers are polluted at their headwaters. People are awakening to the need to steward and care for their rivers in the 21st century. Riverfront developments along rivers in cities all over the world are returning river edges to their original state while providing places for the public to access the water for recreation. Let’s take a look at rivers where you live and see how they can be enhanced to connect more people to them.