Ecosystem under restoration: a sustainable future for the cultural landscape of San Antonio River, Texas

Urban river restoration can successfully reconcile flood protection with the preservation of cultural landscapes. The San Antonio River Improvement Project (SARIP) demonstrates that strategic ecosystem restoration, such as the Mission Reach Ecosystem Restoration Project, can reverse the ecological and aesthetic impacts of mid-20th century channelization while enhancing the historic integrity of a UNESCO World Heritage Site candidate. By analyzing SARIP's 13-mile river enhancement efforts (2001–2014), this study highlights how reintegrating natural river dynamics—such as meanders, floodplains, and riparian vegetation—can restore both ecological function and the ancestral relationship between land and water, as advocated by Leopold's 'land ethic'. The approach combines hydrological modeling with cultural landscape assessment to inform sustainable urban development.

Lombardi, A. (2014). Ecosystem under restoration: a sustainable future for the cultural landscape of San Antonio River, Texas. The Sustainable City IX, 1, 1139–1151. https://doi.org/10.2495/sc140962