January Program

Daylighting Urban Streams:
Nature Based Solutions for Climate Resilience and Justice

Dr. Luna Khirfan
School of Planning , University of Waterloo

On Line Only

7:30 PM, Thursday January 15, 2026

Dr. Luna Khirfan is an Associate Professor at the School of Planning, University of Waterloo, Canada. Her research explores the intersection of public engagement, policy making, and climate change adaptation, with a strong emphasis on climate justice. She develops coupled human-natural systems models to inform planning and policy while accounting for equity and resilience. Dr. Khirfan’s current work investigates the daylighting (de-culverting) of urban streams (restoring buried waterways and reintegrating them into urban landscapes) as a nature-based solution for climate change adaptation and mitigation. She also serves as co-investigator on the Urban Futures project, which examines climate resilience strategies in African cities. Her expertise has been recognized globally through her contributions to recent chapters of the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2022) and the UN-Habitats’ World Cities Report: Cities and Climate Action (2024).

As cities confront the escalating impacts of the climate crisis, nature-based solutions (NbS) are emerging as powerful strategies for resilience. Among these, “daylighting” buried urban streams (restoring waterways that were culverted during rapid urbanization) has gained global attention. This presentation explores why daylighting matters and how different approaches shape its outcomes for climate adaptation, mitigation, and urban livability.

Through a comparative lens, the presentation examines two contrasting cases: Seoul’s Cheonggyecheon restoration in South Korea, a bold mega-project that uncovered over six kilometers of stream, and Zürich’s bachkonzept policy in Switzerland, which has incrementally daylighted more than 25 kilometers of smaller stream segments since 1988. Despite stark differences in scale, timing, and cost, both interventions have transformed their cities, though in distinct ways. Neither fits neatly into conventional models of abrupt or directed transformations; instead, they reveal nuanced pathways for reintegrating natural systems into dense urban fabrics.

The findings highlight how daylighting can deliver multiple benefits: reducing flood risk, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by reclaiming auto-oriented spaces for transit and active mobility, and restoring socio-cultural connections to water. These lessons underscore that while the climate crisis demands urgent action, transformative change can take many forms, whether disruptive or incremental. For planners, policymakers, and communities, daylighting offers a compelling example of how cities can adapt and thrive by working with nature rather than against it.

Please note that if the link to join online requests a passcode, please enter SNS. If you have trouble connecting via the Zoom link, please text or phone LeeAnn at 306-880-9027. Please consider joining the meeting a little early so we can address any problems.

All members who have registered an email address with SNS will receive an email containing the link to join the meeting through Zoom. If you have not registered an email address with us, but would like to do so, please contact Claire Bullaro at c.bear@sasktel.net.

Tracking Migratory Birds:Where Do They Really Fly? – Ernesto Carman

September 2022

Wetland Drainage and its Impacts on Biodiversity in the Prairie and Parkland Region of Canada

Kiel Drake

February 2022

Monthly Meetings and Speaker Programme

Listen, learn, and share ideas with people who are passionate about our natural world! 

SNS offers a monthly speaker programme from September to April on the third Thursday of the month. All meetings are live streamed through Zoom.

During the fall and spring months presentations will be in hybrid format: speakers will present live at in-person meetings while being simultaneously streamed through Zoom. During winter months speakers may be streamed from outside the Saskatoon region and on these occasions, there will be no in-person meeting.

All are welcome to attend these meetings either in-person or through Zoom. Look for details about each month’s meeting in the SNS membership newsletter, confirming any in-person meeting time and place. A reminder email with the meeting details and Zoom link will be sent to each member whose current email address is on file.

Non-members who wish to attend through Zoom should provide their name and email address to Claire Bullaro at c.bear@sasktel.netfor each meeting. Please consider becoming a member of the Saskatoon Nature Society if you wish to receive the Zoom link automatically each month.

In person meetings are held on the University of Saskatchewan Campus and are thus subject to the university’s rules regarding COVID restrictions. At present, masks and social distancing are encouraged but not required. We will not be providing shared refreshments, so please bring your own drinks and snacks.

The monthly meetings include announcements from the SNS president. If you have an announcement or notice, please contact the president at least 2 days before the meeting.