The Role of a River: An Analysis of the Conceptualized Spatial Uses of the San Antonio River

Keywords: green gentrification, urban imaginaries, urban conservation, waterfront redevelopment
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Urban imaginaries focus on the cognitive mappings of urban spaces and how these cognitive mappings are interpreted to influence the way in which we reflect on, experience, assess and act in the spaces that we live. The concept of urban imaginaries is further expanded on through a case study on the differing imaginaries of the San Antonio River and how these competing urban imaginaries influence different ideas of spatial practice among actors in the Mission Reach river redevelopment, an eight-mile section of the San Antonio River. The San Antonio River, a central actor in the city’s development trajectory since the beginnings of human settlement in the area, presents the opportunity to understand how urban rivers play a part in constituting and contesting hegemonic urban imaginaries. On the south side of San Antonio, environmental restoration efforts play a major role in assembling the Mission Reach, a stretch of river that runs through historically Latin-x neighborhoods, many of which are lower income and have not seen as much long-term capital investment as some other parts of the city. These contextual factors raise the possibility of environmental gentrification as a consequence of this redevelopment strategy. This paper examines linkages between urban riparian initiatives and urban redevelopment to understand how these phenomena interact in the production and contestation of urban imaginaries in and of San Antonio.