We review published references on 'deculverting' (also known as 'daylighting') projects in the United Kingdom and internationally. The aim of the review was to assess the objectives of implemented projects and to establish where evidence exists for the purported social, economic and environmental benefits of deculverting. The outcomes highlight the need for collaboration to collate detailed information on such projects, to support the further development of evidence-based policy. It is clear that deculverting schemes can indeed exert considerable positive impacts, including ecological benefits, reduced flood risks, recreation for local communities and a stimulus for regeneration, but that the evidence for these impacts is sparse. We conclude that improvements in policy will help to maximise these opportunities, by encouraging the implementation of good practices.

Efforts to restore rivers are increasingly concerned with the social implications of landscape change. However, the fundamental issue of how people make sense of local riverine environments in the context of restoration remains poorly understood. Our research examined influences on perception among local residents 14 years after a restoration scheme on the River Dearne in the north of England. Human-landscape relationships emerging from semi-structured interviews with 16 local residents were analysed using an interpretive research framework. Nine recurring factors influenced perception among local residents: scenic beauty; the condition of riparian vegetation and of river channel morphology; opportunities to observe flora and fauna; cleanliness of the riverine environment; access available to the river; connections between the river and the surrounding landscape; disturbance and change in the familiarity of the landscape following restoration. These factors were not solely related to tangible outcomes of the restoration scheme, but were also influenced by history, memories, traditions and practices associated with the river. Critically, these factors also interacted rather than operating in isolation and two idealised perceptual frameworks were developed to map these interactions. Our research contributes to theoretical understanding of the relationships between humans and landscape change, whilst also considering how restoration practice may better reflect these relationships. The importance of a social dimension to the template of possibilities for restoring any given river emerges, underpinning place-based design and implementation of river restoration schemes.

No abstract

Bradford Scholars -how to deposit your paper Overview Copyright check• Check if your publisher allows submission to a repository.• Use the Sherpa RoMEO database if you are not sure about your publisher's position or email openaccess@bradford.ac.uk.

No abstract