Research is a critical component to achieving the vision of the Tennessee RiverLine. Throughout the Tennessee RiverLine’s history, the team has explored topics related to the river’s ecology, history, hydrology, economic potential, outdoor recreation potential, access and transportation, water quality, and many others. We welcome any opportunity to learn more about our river and its tributaries. If you would like to partner with us on a study, please reach out!

To facilitate research, we have partnered with organizations such as the Tennessee Valley Authority, Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area, the National Park Service, the City of Knoxville, the Tennessee Department of Health, and many more.

In addition, we have also partnered with many academic institutions including the University of Alabama, the University of North Alabama, the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, and many colleges within the University of Tennessee, Knoxville including the College of Architecture & Design, the Herbert College of Agriculture, the College of Communication & Information, The Baker School of Public Policy & Public Affairs, and UT Extension.

Read more about our Partners in the Classroom here.

Arguably one of the most impactful studies the Tennessee RiverLine has performed was the Economic Impact Study which estimated that the Tennessee RiverLine could generate up to $104 million in annual spending across the region. This figure has helped progress conversations around building an outdoor recreation economy and culture across our RiverTowns communities in a meaningful and exciting way.

The Tennessee RiverLine Gap Analysis study identified gaps in services and amenities along the river, and among which populations were the gaps more prevalent. The study helped outline areas for potential infrastructure improvements and funding needs and laid the foundation for developing the Plan Your Journey interactive web map.

The Third Creek Initiative, a collaboration with UT Knoxville, UTIA, the City of Knoxville, and AMBC, found opportunities to help re-frame Third Creek (a tributary of the Tennessee River) as a destination for quality outdoor recreation through habitat and shoreline restoration, greenway development and enhancement, and by providing amenities such as lighting, benches, and safe access to the water.

Through planning and design studies like the Neyland Drive Corridor Study and the Leading Edge study at UT Knoxville’s ETREC Holston Unit, the team has helped to advance the principles behind the Tennessee RiverLine’s vision of equitable access, public health, and economic development across the region and the ways through which local infrastructure development can help catalyze their progress.

Partners in the Classroom

The Tennessee RiverLine’s vision began in the classroom when Journey Roth, a student in a graduate landscape architecture studio, developed the idea for a connected greenway system (featured on the right) across the entire length of the Tennessee River. The rest is history, as they say, and our connection to the University of Tennessee’s School of Landscape Architecture remains an important component of our planning and design work to this day.

Students play a critical role in ideating and developing strategies for the Tennessee RiverLine’s future success. Branding, signage, graphic design, and programming support are all areas in which students have supported the initiative.

Planning & Design

Since 2016, students have collaborated with the Tennessee RiverLine to provide in-depth academic research on a variety of related topics and have developed conceptual studies that have helped shape the RiverLine’s trajectory. Today, landscape architecture students join the Tennessee RiverLine’s professional design team as interns and graduate assistants and remain an integral part of our planning and design efforts.

This page features just a small sample of the incredible work that student researchers have produced for the Tennessee RiverLine. This body of student research is the basis for many of the Tennessee RiverLine projects being proposed today.

FUN FACT: Graduate Landscape Architecture students working with the Tennessee RiverLine initiative have been awarded several awards including two American Society of Landscape Architecture student design awards:

2017 ASLA Award of Excellence - HydroLit: Southeast Tennessee Water Quality Playbook

2020 ASLA Award of Honor - 652-to-YOU: An Approach for a Collective Voice

Graphic Design

To develop signage and wayfinding ideas, we collaborated with a Graphic Design studio at the University of Tennessee’s School of Design that iterated several different versions of signage typologies for the Tennessee RiverLine. Each version was unique and gave the team inspiration that we incorporated into our current signage designs.

Marketing & Communication

We collaborated with graduate students from the UT College of Communication & Information’s Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations to undertake a comprehensive brand audit for the Tennessee RiverLine. The students conducted localized research to gauge the existing understanding and perceptions of the Tennessee RiverLine brand.

Their investigation delved into the motivations of our diverse audiences, seeking to understand how we can better connect with them. The result was a detailed presentation that validated our current brand plans and introduced fresh ideas and innovative strategies that will inform the evolution of our communication and marketing plans.