Our project on the mississippi River

The U.S. Congress charges the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct disposition studies to determine whether a project that they operate and maintain should be deauthorized and ultimately disposed. The Corps is in the midst of conducting disposition studies from coast to coast. This process includes gauging public opinion through hearings and public comments.

Our project focuses on the Corps ongoing study of the Upper Mississippi, which includes the three upper most locks and dams on the river (Upper St. Anthony Falls, Lower St. Anthony Falls and Lock and Dam 1). Beyond the Mississippi, we are examining the outcomes of disposition studies on other American rivers.

This website also describes our efforts at imagining a future river through public opinion surveying and public arts projects. The later work extends the notion of disposition beyond its legal framing toward alternative uses of the term that reflect how we arrange and give character and meaning to the Mississippi. While the Corps eliminated dam removal as a potential outcome of the Upper St. Anthony Falls Disposition Study, it will consider this option for the other two projects. We are taking a deeper look at how razing infrastructure might change how we know, use and respect the river's life force.

How is the Army Corps engaging diverse publics in considering what “value” locks and dams provide in the Upper Mississippi basin?

Which modes of engagement open up or close down imaginings of a future river?

How might alternative forms of public participation aid the policy process by engaging more inclusive forms of deliberation?