In the past, water poured off Wabasha, Minnesota’s downtown roofs and flowed directly to the Mississippi River. Now it’s absorbed in landscaped basins, passed through an underground catchment filter, and infiltrated through brick-paved sidewalks, stairs, plaza and an alley near the National Eagle Center.

In real-life fashion, Wabasha’s riverfront developed “piecemeal, over time,” says city planner Molly Patterson-Lundgren of WSB & Associates. The City, a local nonprofit, developers, and private donors worked together over time to Read More→