The Urban River Syndrome: Achieving Sustainability Against a Backdrop of Accelerating Change

Human activities have been affecting rivers and other natural systems for millennia. Anthropogenic changes to rivers over the last few centuries led to the accelerating state of decline of coastal and estuarine regions globally. Urban rivers are parts of larger catchment ecosystems, which in turn form parts of wider nested, interconnected systems. Accurate modelling of urban rivers may not be possible because of the complex multisystem interactions operating concurrently and over different spatial and temporal scales. This paper overviews urban river syndrome, the accelerating deterioration of urban river ecology, and outlines growing conservation challenges of river restoration projects. This paper also reviews the river Thames, which is a typical urban river that suffers from growing anthropogenic effects and thus represents all urban rivers of similar type. A particular emphasis is made on ecosystem adaptation, widespread extinctions and the proliferation of non-native species in the urban Thames. This research emphasizes the need for a holistic systems approach to urban river restoration.

Automated summary

Human activities have been impacting rivers and natural systems for thousands of years, with changes over the past few centuries leading to a global decline in coastal and estuarine regions. Urban rivers are part of larger ecosystems, but modeling them accurately is challenging due to complex interactions at different scales. This paper discusses the urban river syndrome, highlighting challenges in river restoration projects and focusing on the River Thames as a typical urban river facing anthropogenic effects and ecological issues. It emphasizes the importance of a holistic approach to urban river restoration.