Background Since the growing dominance of road traffic during the 19th and 20th centuries, urban river corridors have increasingly fallen into disrepair. Local authorities are often reluctant to invest in green spaces around urban river corridors for fear that improvements, structural or environmental, will be vandalised. Instead, many rivers are fenced off or hidden from local people. As a result, river corridors have become neglected, misused and are often associated with anti-social behaviour. Local public have no access to safe green spaces along the river corridors, the river and its surroundings become polluted and used as a dumping ground, and native flora and fauna suffer. The three rivers chosen for the project were the Ravensbourne in the London Borough of Lewisham (UK), the Dee in Chester (UK), and the Dommel in 's-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands). All three river corridors had similar problems but of varying size, environmental and social characteristics. Objectives The QUERCUS project aimed to demonstrate how the ‘designing out crime’ model, previously used in housing estate developments, could be used to successfully regenerate urban river corridors, increasing their use and enjoyment. ‘Designing out crime’ works on the theory that carefully designed spaces can help to reduce crime. The objectives of the project were to: Reintegrate the river corridors into the urban environment by creating a network of usable public space around the river. The modifications to the environment would allow good access for pedestrians, cyclists and disabled users as well as improving the habitat for wildlife. Consult and engage with local people in the regeneration plans to ensure continual usage of the river corridors and consequently oversight of these spaces to minimise crime and vandalism. Produce three examples of a transferable model of river corridor management, integrating environmental, economic and social inclusion issues. Produce best practice dissemination material, enabling urban planners and developers across the EU to learn from the model and apply it to their own river corridors.Results Through careful redesign, QUERCUS significantly improved the quality of the environment of all three selected river corridors. The project attracted new wildlife to the areas and improved access to, and the use and enjoyment of the river corridors by local people, reducing fear of crime. Each partner applied the ‘designing out crime’ model at two or more locations along the urban river corridor. In Lewisham, the river was removed from its existing concrete channel to a more natural route through a park. A new habitat for wildlife was created, which attracted an increase in birds not previously seen in the area, including herons and ducks. In 's-Hertogenbosch, the 17th century buried remains of the Maria Bastion were reconstructed to the water level and a new park was laid out on top. In Chester, along the river Dee, a network of cycle paths and access routes were created or improved and a visitors centre buillt. There are also plans to create a regional park in the future. The project engaged the local community in the redesign of all three sites and in implementing their improvements to the water corridor environment. This was a key factor in developing a strong sense of local ownership over the river areas and increasing their usage to make the sites self-policing. At one site, measurable public usage had increased by over 250% while at others the anecdotal evidence available showed a much greater variety of users than before the project. It is difficult to assess if actual crime figures have been affected, but at one site a before-and-after survey recorded that those feeling “safe or very safe” had increased from 42% to 78%. The partnership between the three local authorities fostered exchange of best practice and learning points. A toolkit has been produced to share this learning so that other local authorities and similar organisations can improve urban rivers in other settings using the ‘designing out crime’ model. Lewisham has been accredited with the national Green Flag award, while the other projects followed Green Flag management criteria in their planning. All three project partners have managed to obtain additional funds which will allow for further work to be carried out on the three rivers. )The project has published a toolkit, which is available as a free memory stick or downloadable via the project website as well as via the "Read more section" of this summary (68 MB). Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).