Seven Greenways: A Cooperative Vision for Water in the Arid West

Honor Award

Analysis and Planning

Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
Design Workshop, Inc. - Aspen
Client: Wasatch Front Range Regional Council / Seven Canyons Trust

Seven Greenways Vision Plan

While the Wasatch Range is famous for its quality snow, its seven snowmelt-fed creeks have been rendered virtually invisible through most urban areas.

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Urban Disruption of Natural Systems

Compounded creek detriments such as sedimentation, dewatering, and invasive vegetation originate from historic city settlements.

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Larger Consequences for the Wasatch Watershed

This plan expresses regional benefits of reviving greenways: air quality, social equity, heat reduction, flood resilience, bird sanctuaries, and more.

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Environmental Issues and Opportunities

Large scale data synthesis tells a story of the interconnectedness of aquatic ecosystems, riparian habitats, and human attempts to control water.

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Social Issues and Opportunities

Examination of public access to creek recreation and neighborhood green spaces reveal systemic inequalities that impact wellness and health.

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8 Communities and 12 Partnerships Coming Together

Fostering collaboration and forging intergovernmental commitment to actions that benefit the whole was a major component of the plan creation effort.

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Community Vision

Engagement methods balance technical stakeholders and representation from underserved and minority populations input to shape the plan.

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Five Themes to Align the Creeks

Themes emerged that unify aspirations and organize a framework of strategies for nature, water, community, recreation, and urban development.

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Encouraging Nature to Thrive

Stream daylighting concepts are shaped by species needs for critical habitat functions and continuity.

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Restoring Our Water

Strategies to restore floodplain channels and wetlands, manage flow rates, and revegetate appropriately all combat climate fluctuations.

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Addressing Equity & Access in Our Community

Equity and inclusion for diverse populations is promoted through its prioritization of environmental health and mobility improvements.

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Expanding Recreation & Increasing Walkability

The plan proposes trail connections and safe crossings to connect public spaces, schools, civic institutions, and recreational opportunities.

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Activating & Connecting Our Urban Areas

Community input identified what attracts people to the creeks and helped envision catalysts for neighborhood activation and connections.

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100-Year Vision Plan

While many strategies have motivated immediate change, the 100-year vision inspires radical approaches compelled by an end goal for sustainability.

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Toolkit for Implementation

Best management practices, policy and design guidance fill a need for consistent communication of expectations for arid communities.

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Partnerships in Action

Momentum has extended to ongoing educational tours, volunteerism, multi-jurisdictional grants, 21 public projects, and changes to private development.

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“

The Seven Greenways Vision presents hope for climate justice and nature thriving in an urban oasis.

”

- 2024 Awards Jury

Project Credits

Anna Laybourn, FAICP, Principal - Design Workshop, Inc.

Alison Cotey-Bourquin, PLA, AICP, IaF Endorsed Facilitator, LEED® Green Associate™, Project Manager - Design Workshop, Inc.

Ashton Breeding, SITES AP, Design Team - Design Workshop, Inc.

Mary Oliver, Planner - Design Workshop, Inc.

Jennifer Pintar, Planner - Design Workshop, Inc.

Joshua Crawford, Awards Preparation - Design Workshop

Seven Canyons Trust: Brian Tonetti, Consultant

Megan Townsend, Consultant, Wasatch Front Range Regional Council

Cottonwood Heights City, City of Holladay, Midvale City, City of Millcreek, Murray City, Sandy City, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, and South Salt Lake, Wasatch Front Range Regional Council

Project Statement

The Great Salt Lake is on the brink of disappearance. Drying of the lakebed will cause ecological collapse and expose millions of people to toxic dust. Urgency for solutions grows amidst megadrought. This is the first regional plan of action: revive 129 miles of upstream waterways flowing through the mountains to the most populous and rapidly urbanizing area of Utah. Ten jurisdictions united through goals for revitalizing creeks and connecting communities to greenways. The plan creation process is a model for collectively forging water landscape remedies involving thousands of community members, technical experts, and elected officials. The Seven Greenways Vision presents hope for climate justice and nature thriving in an urban oasis.

Project Narrative

CONTEXT FOR URGENT CLIMATE ACTION

Over the past two centuries, humans' relationship with the Wasatch Range streams has altered from fishing and hunting grounds of Indigenous people, to canyon passageways for colonial settlers, to industrialization resources, to a nuisance and impediment of progress. Rapid urbanization resulted in creek burial and channelization. Now with the valley floor reaching dangerous levels of air pollution, drinking water scarcity, intensity of heat waves, flood risks, and drought crisis, treatment of the creeks is being reexamined - pursuing nature as a solution for public health and livability. Efforts to understand and address environmental justice issues for surface water are starting to take shape.

STRENGTH IN REGIONAL UNITY

In this culture of strong private property rights, a community-supported framework is needed that is not constrained by jurisdictional lines. While providing benefits to some, past piecemeal creek projects have not embraced ecosystem and watershed-scale opportunities, and at worst, created downstream negative affect, entrenched inequalities, and displaced wildlife or humans. As a profound approach, a coalition formed including the regional council, eight municipalities, Salt Lake County, and state and federal agency partners.

The project landscape architect facilitated coalition workshops to gain consensus on objectives and aspirations. Case study examination of successes and confronting failures was a useful framework for identifying pervasive topics. The group discovered large-scale reciprocal efforts that would have the most sustainable success. This was formulated into a 100-year vision for big change to be possible through smaller actions. Prior to this project, individual cities competed for small local grants, causing a sense of scarcity. This has changed with the plan’s compelling cross-government projects applicability for exponentially greater funding.

ANALYSIS OF WATER JUSTICE

Disparate data sources were collected to create the first comprehensive report for the region understanding historic, current, and future conditions. The depth of systems analysis of ecology, social/cultural, built-environment, economic, recreation, and mobility, exemplifies the usefulness of the profession for answering complex questions about social and environmental justice.

The data was used for educating the public about why the creeks are still worth protecting and enhancing, highlighting the most urgent issues. This includes innovations for evaluating disparities in community health and access to nature, identifying inequalities based on race, ethnicity, age, and income. The result is justice for water access and community investment.

INCLUSIVENESS OVERCOMES APATHY

Thousands of community members provided input that formed the plan ideas and priorities. Inclusive engagement such as park chats in Spanish, discussion topic seminars, online mapping tools, trail tours, and university student outreach, ensured representation from all geographic areas and demographics. This has broadened ongoing community stewardship.

SCALABLE SOLUTIONS FOR LARGE-LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION

This model for solution-finding provides obvious advantages such as multi-jurisdictional trail link completion, as well as underlying policy reform, governance, maintenance, and funding mechanisms. The Seven Greenways Vision plan represents hope, with actionable steps for climate resilience to benefit future generations and wildlife.