Landscape architect Tom Leader in Farview Park, overlooking the Mississippi.

Here are some photos taken by the design team recently chosen in a competition to work with Mpls. Park and Rec and other groups on plans to renew, rebuild and rejuvenate five miles of the Mississippi above downtown Minneapolis. Designers from Berkeley-based Tom Leader Studio and Boston-based Kennedy & Violich Architecture walked the 11 miles, sometimes having to ignore "No Trespassing" signs, to research the site at close quarters.

The Star Tribune on March 6 will present a detailed look at their plans and dreams for this stretch of the urban river. Here is Tom Meersman's report on the announcement in late January of the winners of the design competition.