40 Distillation Guidebook Co-Lab • 9.18–9.19 2025 Reshaping Narrative and Public Imagination Since its founding in 2018, RiverWise has come to understand that restoring the river into a regional, civic asset requires reshaping how residents see their own communities, and what they believe is possible within them. Because of this, RiverWise works to return narrative agency to residents, helping them shape this shared vision for the county’s future. Central to this reframing is understanding the identity residents still attach to their riverfronts. The rivers established communities and their industries, but what does that represent to residents? What does it mean to them that these previous riverfront uses are no longer there? From there, how can residents view the waterfront differently? How can it become a civic and community asset instead of the remnants of an industrial corridor? Today, RiverWise operates as a community and economic development nonprofit across multiple municipalities in Beaver County. As the organization advances development initiatives, it simultaneously works to rebuild relationships and regional coordination that were weakened by economic contraction and municipal fragmentation.
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