Call for chapter submissions: Rewilding Urban Rivers

Greg Gordon Discussion

I am the editor of a collected volume that explores our historical and contemporary relationship to urban rivers in the American West. Many urban rivers are experiencing revitalization and “restoration” projects, yet these are essentially human creations or novel ecosystems. These projects raise many fundamental questions about our relationship to the natural world, such as: Are these urban rivers primarily valued for their recreation amenities? What role do such novel ecosystems play in ecological restoration and conservation? How have these human created ecosystems fundamental changed our relationship to the natural world? Do these projects allow for greater access to nature for marginalized communities or do they lead to gentrification?  Each chapter focuses on a specific river “restoration” project to explore these questions. While the publisher is a university press, this isn’t meant for an academic audience, but rather an lay or general audience.  Chapters should be original contributions but need not be original research; first person narratives are encouraged.

If you are interested in contributing a chapter, please email me at fightingbull63@gmail.com.

I am especially interested in proposals that address under-represented perspectives on urban rivers, such as from a Native American or Latinx viewpoint.