River Matters: Hidden Urban Waterways with Trinity Ek, U of M Student Researcher
Monday, August 23, 2021 at 10:19AMArticle by Becky Fillinger
Trinity EkThe history of local unnavigable waterways and natural wetlands, like Bassett Creek, is usually untold. We spoke to Trinity Ek, a senior at the University of Minnesota, who researches hidden urban waterways. She provides background on why it happens and how we can be more aware in our local communities – which can prevent soils unfit for building, sloped land, and landscapes prone to flooding.
Q: In the U’s 2020 Fall Research Symposium, you presented your research on hidden urban waterways, specifically Bassett Creek. Can you please tell us how you came to learn about the local lost waterways?
A: You’re right - I took part in the Fall 2020 Undergraduate Research Symposium as a third year undergraduate student (I am now a senior!). I came to learn about Bassett Creek through my mentor, Patrick Nunnally. We had previously worked on a project together at St. Anthony Falls on the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Trail and I expressed interest in continuing my exploration of water and waterways. He introduced me to the story of Bassett Creek and guided me through the project.
Q: What did you uncover in your Bassett Creek research?
A: Bassett Creek is one example of many that illustrates the intersection of race, place, and hydrology. It illuminates how waterways have often been seen as nuisances in urban areas to build around, over or to bury. The ways we interact with the environment around us influence short-term and long-term social and physical outcomes. For example, Bassett Creek was essentially the local dump and its heavy pollution negatively impacted the health of the community around it, as well as devalued the adjacent land at that time. That devaluation led to the locating of the Sumner Field Homes, which were the first federally subsidized homes in Minnesota. They housed predominantly Asian and Black communities who went on to experience flooding and other impacts from the creek. It was later torn down and Heritage Park now stands there today.
Current day Heritage Park
Bassett Creek near the abandoned Fruen Mill, which dates back to 1894.
Q: What can we as citizens do to help convert lost waterways to usable, beautiful community resources? Is it possible?
A: Well, it can be difficult to even know about lost waterways, as they may be obscured, buried, and hard to see or access. However, when we do know about them, we as citizens can voice our desires to daylight the waterways or restore the areas around them whether that be to planners or to a neighborhood association.
Q: Will you pursue a career in environmental architecture? Or environmental justice?
A: I intend to integrate environmental, racial, and climate justice into my future career as an urban planner. I would like to take the learnings from my research and apply it to the practice of planning in ways that benefit historically disadvantaged and marginalized communities now and in the future.
Q: How may we follow or stay current in your research topic?
A: Follow the work of local organizations who are tackling these issues, such as MWMO and Friends of the Mississippi. To learn more about the intersection of race and hydrology, check out writers like Jason King who explores Hidden Hydrology.
