Is urban stream restoration really a wicked problem?

The many impacts of increasing human populations and urban expansion on streams in the urban environment, collectively described as the urban stream syndrome, is well documented. Urban streams are dynamic environments, with complex interrelationships between stressor and response variables. There is a growing recognition that the social context of urban environments, in addition to the hydrological and ecological contexts, must be accounted for more completely if urban stream restoration projects are to be successful. The characteristic challenges inherent in restoring urban streams may satisfy the definition of a wicked problem. Overwhelmingly, participants at the Fifth Symposium on Urbanization and Stream Ecology in Austin, Texas, in 2020, identified urban stream restoration as a wicked problem. The approach to successfully resolving a wicked problem differs markedly from conventional approaches used to solve less complex problems. Thus, if urban stream restoration is truly a wicked problem, the unique management methods needed for wicked problems must be applied correctly for restoration efforts to be considered successful. We assess the literature describing the urban stream syndrome and urban stream restoration projects against the defining criteria of a wicked problem and conclude that urban stream restoration has elements of a wicked problem, but is not fully a wicked problem. Using social science literature, we offer recommendations to approaching the resolution of the urban stream syndrome using a collaborative governance structure to manage value disagreement and scientific uncertainty.