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The Future of the Public Realm

FRI-B11: From Dam to Dynamic Park: Reimagining Doan Brook’s Future Together

Friday, September 18, 2026
10:45 AM - 12:00 PM PT
1.25 PDH, LA CES/HSW

A transformative plan for Northeast Ohio’s Doan Brook removes an aging dam and restores stream flow, converting failed infrastructure into civic opportunity. Sediment management and ecological restoration reconnect Horseshoe Park to its riparian landscape. This community-driven, landscape architecture-led process relied on substantial engineering to support a six-to-sixty acre park expansion.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Identify the history of Doan Brook in Greater Cleveland, tracing how it has long served as a vital resource, cherished recreational corridor, cultural backdrop, and highly desirable residential address.
  • Assess the Shaker Community’s influence on the landscape, examining how their intensive use of natural resources during a brief three-decade period is interpreted, remembered, and reassessed in contemporary understanding.
  • Examine the impacts of dams on hydrology and ecology, how risks accumulate over time, and how a landscape architect-led, multidisciplinary team can reduce hazards, enhance ecosystems, and strengthen community trust.
  • Diagnose strategies for engaging a complex consortium of stakeholders, including organized opposition, to build shared understanding around aging infrastructure, community priorities, emerging opportunities, and essential regional stormwater management solutions.