For a long time, many Arnsberg residents regarded the Ruhr as an ugly river that flooded their cellars. But from 2003 to 2013 the city’s environmental office and its citizens transformed the straightened river into an idyllic body of water. Schools, fishing clubs, and artists helped plan and implement the project. Today the Ruhr meanders gently through the city past small islands of gravel and driftwood. The riverbed has been widened and as a result there is now very little danger of flooding.