37 same way as connective infrastructure across communities. Like many communities in Pennsylvania, Beaver County’s primary industry disappeared in the mid-20th century. The region has since faced significant economic contraction and population loss. Industrial closures reshaped regional and local economies, as well as the stories that were told about these places. “We have been told for at least decades, if not generations, that our best days are in the past – that we have lost our central identity as a steel community, as an industrial center,” Daniel explains. The industry that was once key to the county’s identity was gone, and, for many, the narrative of decline continues to linger, profoundly shaping how residents understand their future. “The way we talk about something shapes what that thing becomes,” he says. “Many of the challenges we face are in our hearts and in our minds… They have limited our capacity to dream.” Repeated stories of decline have created their own challenges about what communities believe is achievable. When communities are repeatedly told that little is possible, it becomes difficult to generate the momentum, investment, and collective action required to pursue a different future. Even though many communities in the region share this experience, they did not move through it together. It was at the same time that the rivers shifted from a source of regional centrality to one of disconnection. Once “highways of commerce and of industry,” they came to be seen as a dividing line between communities. Daniel observes that “people won’t cross the river to go to another community.” He continues, “the river is a neighbor to many of our communities… and in that sense, it’s also a bit of an unfortunate dividing mechanism.” The river remains deeply significant locally, but has become regionally isolating. The result has been limited regional thinking and coordination. “We’re highly provincial,” Daniel notes. “We tend not to think regionally as much as I think we could.” Although the rivers remain central to the identity of communities along their banks, they no longer function as the shared infrastructure that linked communities both physically and socially. Riverfront Reinvestment and Reconnection RiverWise set out to counter the region’s narrative of loss and reclaim the waterways as a means for bringing communities back into a larger regional fabric. They ask, “Why don’t we use the rivers as an organizing principle for our Small City Natural Environment • Feature • RiverWise
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