Nestled at the bottom of the North Island, Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), the capital of Aotearoa New Zealand, has made big strides towards prioritising and connecting green and blue spaces. Yet a history of straightening, diverting, and burying streams in favour of development have created a legacy of degradation of urban streams. The introduction of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPSFM) was a pivotal point in the evolution of freshwater management in Aotearoa, aimed at reversing this degradation by mandating the setting of enforceable freshwater quality and quantity targets and limits. Decades of monitoring of Wellington’s urban streams have shown that there are numerous failures of the NPSFM National Bottom Lines (minimal acceptable states) and community expectations for our streams’ health. This comes as no surprise considering the number and sources of contaminants, altered hydromorphology, disconnected riparian environments and the lack of room to implement solutions. Here we describe the major challenges facing our urban streams, what over two decades of monitoring have revealed about trends in major contaminants, and how piped streams represent important fish habitat. We outline the ambitious management plans, developed with mana whenua and the community, which set a 100-year vision for all waterways to be restored to a state of Wai Ora (healthy water). This includes recommendations for the adoption of radical new approaches to urban design and stormwater and wastewater management.