Town dwellers in Europe and developed countries accorded great importance to rivers as a mean of transporting merchandise as well as tourism and waterfront development. River banks usually inhibit the cores around which towns evolve. They constitute the historic districts that have significant tourism sites and distinctive urban activities. On the one hand, various recreational activities have come to exist on the shores of rivers benefiting from such potential means of transportation and tourism development. This has led to the emergence of a new kind of tourism within European towns, namely river tourism, which relies on the various natural and human potentials on the banks of rivers. On the other hand, river banks are considered mainly public spaces that include multiple layers of social interaction and community communication. Hence, waterfront development plans and consequent river tourism activities must promote the creation of a balance cultural and social ecosystems to guarantee smooth and sustainable usage of implemented projects. As the social value of public space lies in its relevance to the local context and in people's memory of places, successful public spaces must provide opportunities for social interaction, social communication, social inclusion, and also facilitate community ties. This paper, therefore, aims to theoretically explore the evolvement of tourism development with respect to rivers waterfronts. It also aims to explore and document the connection between effective and sustainable public spaces with respect to balance cultural ecosystems within rivers waterfronts and consequent river tourism activities. Furthermore, using the case of the River Nile waterfronts, this paper aims to shed light on the shortcomings of the development planning process within waterfronts areas in Egypt. It helps the decision-makers to critically understand the impact of the evident lack of attention to the cultural and social ecosystems indicators on both the official regulations governing the development planning process as well as successive development plans of the Nile River waterfront and consequent river tourism activities.