Along the Detroit River, industry’s backdoor was transformed with concrete and steel into 31 miles of hard engineering. A new approach, soft engineering, is turning these sites from gray to green with native plants, habitat creation and landscaping.
March 15, 2011
Softening the way we think about shorelines
The Detroit River’s hard edge isn’t so great for river species looking for a place to live, the costs to repair its crumbling or cracking rim and for the eyes of Detroiters. Rising in its place is the concept of soft shoreline engineering.
March 24, 2011
Industries that created hard shorelines are now softening them
Detroit Edison Energy Co.’s River Rouge Power Plant site is a recent example of industrial organizations re-engineering the Detroit River shoreline.
April 26, 2011
Soft engineering presence grows
Great Lakes’ shorelines pose several challenges to use of soft shoreline engineering, and many states encourage its use but don’t require it. Despite that, those that practice the technique say use of soft engineering is growing.