Town Branch Water Walk

Lexington, KY
  • American Planning Association - Kentucky Chapter, Special Merit Award for Outstanding Use of Technology: Civic Engagement, 2016
  • Architect's Newspaper Best of Design Award - Honorable Mention, Temporary Installation, 2016

Why would someone care about a culvert? SCAPE received a grant from the Department of Environmental Quality to develop a public education campaign about urban water systems that would complement the Town Branch redevelopment project in Lexington, Kentucky. The result, Town Branch Water Walk, is a self-guided tour of downtown Lexington’s formerly hidden water body, Town Branch Creek, with content developed together with University of Kentucky students. The design intervention is not a physical landscape, but a communication tool– using podcasts, maps, and walks for the interpretation of urban systems. The Water Walk gives a broad understanding of the biophysical area around the Town Branch, reveals the invisible waters that run beneath the city, and demonstrates some of the impacts each resident of Lexington can have on the river and its water quality. By sharing how water systems and people are interrelated—both locally and globally—the Town Branch Water Walk makes stormwater quality relevant, linking it with the history, culture, and ecology of the city.

Client

  • Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG)
  • Town Branch Water Walk

Collaborators

Bluegrass Greensource
MTWTF Graphic Design
Lexington Downtown Development Authority
Town Branch Trail, Inc.
Fayette Alliance
University of Kentucky