A Common Tragedy: History of an Urban River

Edited by Timothy J. Iannuzzi, David F. Ludwig, Jason C. Kinnell, Jennifer M. Wallin, William H.
Desvousges, and Richard W. Dunford

US $39.95, 2002, 200 pp. ISBN: 1-884940-27-7

The rise and fall, and rise again of an American river is the theme of ACommon Tragedy: History of an
Urban River. This work traces historical events along a waterway in one of our nation’s most congested
metropolitan centers. The authors investigate the delicate dance between man and environment from
prehistory through the events of today. In many instances, the magnitude of some of these events could
not be fully recognized until an historical survey such as this laid them out for the modern reader.

This “Passaic River” study is scholarly with scores of charts, lists, chronologies, footnotes, and a rich
bibliography for the specialist. Still, the text “flows” for the average reader as well. From the earliest
geological and historical descriptions the reader is transported through time to the beginning of
reconstitution of a “dead” or the “second worst polluted river in America” into a recovering and
rediscovered asset. Newark and the more than three hundred communities that line the Passaic’s shores
have benefited and taken from it for generations, and are beginning to look at the River as a major
resource in their 21st century redevelopment. Lessons taken from the waterfront revivals of other major
cities such as Baltimore and San Antonio are being heeded. The cycle of life emerging from water may
well be reenacted on the Passaic River today.

Topics included in this Passaic River compendium include its geological and historical past; the role of the
Dutch, English, and American developers; the changes in shoreline and wetlands over three centuries;
and the role of industrialization and urbanism.

Ordering Information

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Understanding Urban Ecosystems: A Tragic Past and Uncertain Future

2. Ecology and Economics: Tools for Regulation and Management

3. Before the Europeans: Who Lived Along the Passaic?

4. The Europeans: How was the Passaic Used and Abused?

5. Shorelines and Wetlands: What Happened to Them?

6. Waterways: How Have They Changed in 300 Years?

7. Fish and Shellfish: The Victims of Industrialism and Urbanization

8. Wildlife: What has Survived the Urban Transition?

9. Fishing: Where Have All the Anglers Gone?

10. Rowing: A Lost Recreational Tradition

11. Boating: Proud Past, but Little Present

 12. Swimming: Only a Distant Memory

13. Passive Recreation: Shrinking Open Space

14. The Passaic River: Moving Forward or Repeating History?

Literature Cited

Index