Kinnickinnic River (Milwaukee River tributary)

The landform that protected the harbor was a long marshy spit, called Jones Island, that extended southwards from the center of the city.

To shorten the distance from the harbor entrance to the city, a "straight cut" was made across the base of the spit, at the northern end.

The inhabitants of Jones Island were forced to leave, and those that were small commercial fishermen moved operations farther up the Kinnickinnic.

[5] High levels of industrial pollutants, diminished access for public use, and lack of a vegetative buffer have caused much of the community to perceive the waterways as nothing more than a network of municipal sewage drainage channels.

[9] Plans to remove the concrete in the river channel are already underway as part of a flood mitigation project under the direction of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD).

[citation needed] In 2009, a neighborhood plan was developed to improve conditions in the river corridor by building off the flood mitigation work.

In addition to the river, areas of focus include adjacent and nearby parks, open space, housing, businesses, transportation, and education opportunities.