Over the past three and a half decades, a debate has existed about the future of the LA River. Is it infrastructure, or will it be a”natural” river ever again? The Los Angeles County LA River Master Plan explored this question through multiple years of technical research, a data-based methodology for understanding community needs, and a community engagement process. From the data-based methodology of the LA River Master Plan, it is clear that focusing on multi-benefit infrastructure is critical for the Los Angeles River and that the community and urban connections to the river cannot be ignored in the river’s reimagination. Adopted in June 2022, the Master Plan suggests several strategies for multi-benefit infrastructure that focus on community needs, uniting ecological, social, and hydrological realities. The relationship between communities and the river studied during the LA River Master Plan is described in this essay. Flowing 51 miles through one of the most famous metropolises of the world, the LA River is bordered by some of the most expensive real estates in the United States, and despite LA’s fame as a sprawling city, communities along the river are crowded, and land is in short supply. Along the Lower LA River, communities rank in the worst 10% of environmentally burdened cities in the State of California, and many communities have less than 1 acre of open space per thousand people. For the last century, the LA River has been seen as “infrastructure”, a mostly concrete, engineered channel to move water to the Pacific Ocean as quickly as possible during large storm events, which can stack off the Pacific and pour large amounts of rain across the 830-square-mile watershed. A dream of a fully “naturalized” river is largely incompatible with contemporary Los Angeles. Those who hold fast to an extreme image of a fully “restored” natural system can mislead the public. The river has gone through many evolutions and exists now as a distinct cultural landscape. We have to reconsider what an “urban river” can and should be. This is not about rejecting the idea of nature in the city or denying a river a connection to its “natural” past. The LA River Master Plan is about embracing a new permutation that supports ecosystems and communities through strategies that align with the context. Complexity exists between urban development, ecology, and infrastructure. Landscape architects can accept this challenge to design a better urban relationship between our ecological and social systems. The LA River offers this opportunity on a grand scale of public space, with over 1 million people within 1 mile of the 51-mile channel and over 4 million people in the relatively small watershed. The LA River is likely to be a centerpiece for ever-increasing density and urban connections for generations to come. While the endless debate between infrastructure and nature goes on, generations of children grow up without parks, with poor air quality, without space to exercise, and without ecological function in the neighborhood. It’s time to accept complexity and be creative as designers, recognizing that the LA River and the city can co-exist.