• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.59-68
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• 2007

Urban streams have been severely degraded with wastewater and concrete structure over a prolonged period. The Chonggyecheon Restoration Project recovered a stream in the downtown Seoul with landscaping, plantings and bridges after the cover concrete and elevated asphalt road were removed. The project has been criticized partly because it is not an ecological restoration but rather the development of an urban park with an unnaturally straight flowing stream, artificial building structures, and artificial water pumping from the Han River. Nevertheless, the public have praised the project and almost 100,000 visitors per day come to see the reeds, catfish, and ducks. The stream restoration project is attractive to central and regional government decision makers because it increases the public concern of landscape amenity. Several projects such as Sanjichon and Kaeumjungchon are on going and proposed. These projects have a common and different respect in scope and procedure. The Chonggyecheon project in the process of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and prior environmental review system (PERS) reviewed the environmental impacts before development. Kaeumjungchon in the PERS and Sanjichon without EIA and PERS are reviewed. EIA and PERS systems contribute to checking the ecological sustainability of the restoration projects. A stream restoration project is a very complex task, so an integrated approach from plan to project is needed for ecologically sound restoration. Ecological stream restoration requires 1) an assessment of the entire stream ecosystem 2) establishing an ecologically sound management system of the stream reflecting not only benefits for people but also flora and fauna; 3) developing the site-specific design criteria and construction techniques including habitat restoration, flood plains conservation, and fluvial management; 4) considering the stream watershed in land use plan, EIA, PERS, and strategic environmental assessment (SEA). Additionally the process needs to develop the methodologies to enhance stakeholder's participation during planning, construction, and monitoring.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.39-48
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• 2004

In the 1960s, polluted urban streams were covered and paved in concrete. Rivers became sewers buried under road. As a result, wildlife habitat was lost and the open stream space was gone. In the 1990s, there was a movement for restoring urban streams to enhance the quality of life of inhabitants. Chungkye Stream, whose covering began from early 1950s and ended in 1977, is now in the process of restoration together with the Central Business District (CBD) Redevelopment Plan. However, as the construction proceeds, several problems were raised, and serious controversies resulted. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the validity of the approach of the Chungkye Stream Restoration Project through a literature survey and a site survey, and to present the improved alternative. Ultimately, the study aims to contribute to present references or guidelines for similar urban stream restoration projects. The Chungkye Stream Restoration Project has some of the following problems. First, the construction should be done based on the long-term urban redevelopment plan. Second, the construction period should be extended to restore urban streams. Third, the cultural asset conservation plan should be implemented. In order to fulfill the anticipated purpose, the above mentioned problems need to be solved.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.66-74
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• 2004

Since 1960s urban streams in Seoul have been dried and polluted because of urbanization. So, these devastated urban stream environment need to be restored for the better life of residents. Since 1995 stream restoration project which is called Natural-Style Stream Project have begun. However, some projects focused on the restoration of park-style open space rather than restoration of stream environment. As a result there are some stream landscapes to be improved. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the current status of urban stream landscape after Natural Style Stream Project and to propose the alternatives for the urban stream landscape improvement. The study site is Yangjae stream, Seoul.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.85-95
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• 2015

Recent years, nationwide projects for ecological restoration are implemented with emerging issues on the stream ecosystem. In order to enhance effectiveness of the ecosystem restoration and reduce negative impact, the appraisal of effectiveness through the follow-up monitoring and the adaptive management process are executed in consecutive phase. In this study, planning phase, monitoring and adaptive management in Hakui stream which is part of An Yang stream restoration project is introduced as representative ongoing case of effective adaptive management. The aim of this study is to verify the adaptive management process and suggest direction of effective restoration. Restoration project of Hakui stream resulted in increasing number and diversity of species (vegetation, fish, bird, invertbrates, amphibian and reptilia) according to monitoring from 2004 to 2013, and enhancing natural river landscape by evaluation of river naturalness among 2001(before restoration), 2007 (after), 2015 (recent). However, excessive vegetation expansion or sediment deposition on channel over time caused unexpected results such as terrestrialization or degradation of habitats. Adaptive management action such as removing disturbance species (Humulus japonicus)(2007), coppicing willow (2007), release of march snail (2007), creation of wetland (2014) were implemented based on monitoring results. And then appraisal of management action was discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.24-36
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• 2008

The essence of a natural stream restoration project is providing habitats for various creatures in terms of the stream's environmental function. This research suggests the problems of natural stream restoration project by studying streams in terms of habitats for creatures and reviewing the national and international cases on existing natural stream restoration project. As a solution for the above, this research suggests a preservation method for biotope of upper stream areas focusing on the fish biotope area considering the ecological characteristics and preservation value of the respective stream so that the stream can be preserved as habitats for creatures. The research was carried out on Cheonglimli Baekcheon region which is an upper stream area of Buan-Dam located in the public park in Byunsanbando, Buangoon, Jeonlabookdo. We suggest the preservation method based on the habitat environment and keystone species of fish. The habitat environment evaluation was carried out mainly being divided into three groups namely, habitats and surrounding environment, reservoir's features and fish way and the diversity of fish. By improving the problematic elements discovered through such evaluation, it tries to improve the biotope of the stream and continuously preserve the stream. In addition, in order to restore the stream as habitats for various creatures, this research suggests to select keystone species which are suitable for the stream environment and restore the habitats based on the keystone species rather than restoring habitats for all species. Fish not only plays the role of a consumer of Epilithic algae and water beetles but also plays an important ecological role as a food for birds or small mammalia. If such ecologically important biotope for fish is preserved, the ecological environment of the stream will be maintained more stably.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture International Edition
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• no.2
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• pp.120-129
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• 2004

Urban stream restoration projects can improve water quality, wildlife habitats, urban landscape, outdoor recreation spaces, and urban microclimate. The objectives of this research were to investigate temperature cooling effect of urban streams by using satellite imagery, to evaluate environmental variables related to stream cooling effect, and to estimate the cooling effect of the Cheonggye stream restoration project of Seoul, Korea. Findings of this research can be summarized as follows. First, a method of estimating temperature distribution around urban streams by using satellite imagery was developed. Scatter plots of distance from stream edges and average temperature obtained through multiple buffering were used for the estimation. Second, urban temperature cooling effect of streams was estimated by comparing background temperature and temperature of each buffer zone. Third, environmental factors affecting stream cooling effect were also identified. Fourth, the temperature cooling effect of the restoration project was estimated based on three scenarios. An estimated cooling effect based on the average cooling effect of existing tributaries showed the most significant effect; $2.0^{\circ}C$ lower than the present level at the edge of the renovated stream. It was estimated that the temperature of the same area would be $1.4^{\circ}C$ cooler than the present level if the cooling effect of the Yangjaechun was used as the bench mark But the effect would be $1.2^{\circ}C$ lower than the present level if environmental variables related to the temperature cooling effect of urban streams were used as the bench mark.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.33-44
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to establish future directions of environmentally-friendly restoration of Yangjae underground stream and reflect various opinions of inhabitant in the plan and design process. The opinions from the citizens include the economic and environmental suitability of the restoration projects and preference for the future directions of restoration. The citizens are favorable to removing the existing parking lot and want to have jogging course, walking path and bike road in the stream. Different opinions and resulted in preferred facilities and diminishing existing park along the stream depending on the restoration influencing zone. As a result, citizens agree in restoration but they have different opinions about the feasibility of new facilities, streams restoration and central park reduction locally. It is desirable to reflect the opinions of citizens in the process of plan and design of restoration project.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.67-96
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• 2012

The Ministry of Environment in Korea has been promoting the urban stream restoration project for paved streams in cities as the restored Cheonggyecheon. As an elementary study for suggesting policy implications for the project, cost and benefit criteria for an ex-post analysis on the Cheonggyecheon project is suggested in this study. The ex-ante analysis were reviewed critically by focusing on the cost and benefit criteria. Ex-post analysis plan in this study is developed considering the standard guideline of pre-feasibility, the theory of cost-benefit analysis, and the review results. The costs for compensating lands, amending conflicts, researching rivers, and maintaining water quantity were also included. For the benefits, this study proposes to estimate the benefits with the assessment on naturalness of stream. The results are expected to contribute to increase the efficiency of the urban stream restoration project and evaluate the project to match better with the meaning of the river restoration.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.69-79
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• 2011

Rapid population growth and land use changes have severely degraded streams across the United States. In response, there has been a surge in the number of stream restoration projects, including stream restoration for mitigation purposes. Currently, most projects do not include evaluation and monitoring, which are critical in the success of stream restoration projects. The goal of this study is to review the current status of assessment methodologies and restoration approaches for streams in Virginia, with the aim of assisting the restoration community in making sound decisions. As part of the study, stream restoration projects data from a project in Fairfax County, Virginia was assessed. This review revealed that the stream assessment methodologies currently applied to restoration are visuallybased and do not include biological data collection and/or a method to incorporate watershed information. It was found from the case study that out of the twenty nine restoration projects that had occurred between 1995 and 2003 in Fairfax County, nineteen projects reported bank stabilization as a goal or the only goal, indicating an emphasis on a single physical component rather than on the overall ecological integrity of streams. It also turned out that only seven projects conducted any level of monitoring as part of the restoration, confirming the lack of evaluation and monitoring. However, Fairfax County has recently improved its stream restoration practices by developing and incorporating watershed management plans. This now provides one of the better cases that might be looked upon by stakeholders when planning future stream restoration projects.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.235-258
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• 2006

The monitoring of vegetation and water quality before(2003), during(2004) and after(2005) the restoration work of Cheonggye Stream indicated that $BOD_5$ concentration before the project averaged 51.1mg/L and that both the inflow of water from Hang River and the funnel of subway station water into the stream lowered the $BOD_5$ to 3.3mg/L, improving its water quality to the third grade. Species of plants slightly increased from 121 to 132 after the restoration. Specifically, perennial plant comprised 35.6%, an increase from 24.8% recorded before the restoration. Phragmites communis and Zoysia japonica communities were observed as the introduction vegetation. However, Humulus japonicus and Erigeron canadensis communities, which were classified into the first grade according to the vegetation conservation classification, were found to be still prevailing though they were dominant community before the restoration, meaning that the ecological condition of plants had not changed very significantly. An the other hand the water quality of the reference reach was classified into the first grade based on $BOD_5$, which implies the water quality of the section was better than the project reaches. Besides the section had more diverse plant species which numbered 154, and furthermore, the rate of immigrated plants comprised 13% which was lower than 28.8% recorded by the project sections. The project reaches are considered to be inferior to the reference section in terms of ecological condition. The effectiveness of the stream restoration cannot be determined only by such short-term investigation as was conducted in this study, and it is considered that the effectiveness of the restoration of Cheonggye Stream can be determined only if investigations in other major factors are conducted over the long-term period.