Exploring the Quasi-naturalistic Landscaping Design of a Taiwanese Culverted Urban Stream

De-culverting is promoted to restore natural watercourses towards sustainable environmental management. However, the Taiwanese case of the Mei Stream develops quasi-naturalistic landscaping on top of its culverted areas for improvement. Whilst most case-related literature emphasises the success in public places, little is known about why such an approach is used. Therefore, this paper investigates the physical characteristics and considerations about the implementation of quasi-naturalistic design within the culverted Mei Stream to aid understanding of watercourse development in dense, flood-afflicted urban areas. Through interviews, direct observations, photographs and government documents, the findings show that green parkways and a pseudo-stream (fed with pumped groundwater and tap water) form the quasi-naturalistic approach, revealing the severity of wastewater contamination and the popularity of hard-engineered watercourses. Water pollution and flood risk perception are the key factors in watercourse redevelopment. In conclusion, the study shows the better the water quality the stronger the argument for de-culverting, and the significance of disseminating knowledge to change public attitudes to river restoration and disaster prevention. A redesign for the case-study stream is proposed to stress multi-functionality of watercourses towards flood protection, biodiversity and recreation.