The research effort was focused primarily on the relationship between water resources and social qualities of urban core areas. Among the subjects specifically covered were inner city water-related recreation, education, housing, crime, and the relationship between urban water resources and land values. The Cleveland metropolitan area was investigated as typical of large urban areas, and was used as a case study. Its water resources include the Lake Erie waterfront and three small rivers, around which the region's major park system is designed. A strategy for introducing new recreation planning methods in the Cleveland systems was recommended. The broad subject of 'social quality' as it may relate to urban water development was defined and conceptualized. Attitudes on the relationship in the society between social quality and urban water development are important in forming a basis for developing water resources for the benefit of the urban core citizen.