Reorienting urban stream management to focus on equitable delivery of benefits

Urban streams are often managed in ways that contribute to societal inequities. Members of marginalized groups are frequently exposed to elevated flood risk and impaired water quality, with reduced access to essential water infrastructure and greenspace within stream corridors. The freshwater science research community has traditionally argued for stream management that improves ecological integrity, which can have the unintended consequence of steering investments away from the most degraded streams, which are often in low-income neighborhoods. We argue that it is time to reorient municipal stream management programs towards the objective of equitable delivery of benefits, which can take many forms, and to de-emphasize the goal of restoring streams to the pre-development ecological condition. To meet the objective of equitable delivery of benefits, municipalities will need to establish systems of collaborative governance, in which community organizations are empowered to participate as equal partners in urban stream management decision-making. We recognize the many practical challenges municipalities face in making these transitions, which will vary by country and region. Here, we identify some opportunities and highlight case studies illustrating how some communities are taking steps toward more equitable urban stream management.