Stories We’re Following
Study finds rising seas are eroding value of homes along coast
Rising seas have already cost Massachusetts homeowners more than a quarter of a billion dollars in lost property value, according to a study set to be published Tuesday, with much more severe losses likely to come.
→Source: The Boston GlobeOpinion: Boston’s port needs attention
Today, Boston’s port economy supports more than 50,000 jobs and creates $4.6 billion in economic value for the city, the state, and the region. To preserve and strengthen Boston’s working ports during a time of rapid development and climate change we urge Massport to continue its focus on the working port and take steps to further modernize Boston’s maritime economy.
→Source: CommonWealth MagazineCharlestown looks at bringing new life to an old navy yard
The South Boston Waterfront may hog the limelight these days. But city officials are turning their attention to Charlestown’s historic Navy Yard, where nearly 2,000 people live. The Boston Planning & Development Agency recently put out a request for proposals to “activate,” in planner-speak, the waterfront area and is accepting input on the private sector responses until Jan. 1.
→Source: The Boston GlobeCharlestown Navy Yard ‘activation’ proposals include observation wheel
Six firms have proposed ideas for furthering what the Boston Planning and Development Agency calls an “activation” of the Charlestown Navy Yard.
→Source: Curbed BostonBoston Harbor cleanup was economically justifiable, finds new study
A first-of-its-kind study finds that Boston Harbor—once dubbed America’s filthiest harbor—is now worth between $30 and $100 billion in ecosystem services. The study demonstrates that the post-cleanup value of healthy ecosystems and their associated benefits to society should be considered when evaluating options for coastal areas.
→Source: ScienceDailyHong Kong’s waters benefit health and wellbeing
A ground-breaking study has revealed how spending time in and around Hong Kong’s ‘blue spaces’ (harbours, coastlines and beaches) is linked to better health and wellbeing, especially for older adults.
→Source: University of ExeterEditorial: Boston Harbor is clean but could face new threats to marine life: plastics and drugs
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority has fulfilled its mission of cleaning up Boston Harbor — and without adverse impacts farther out into Massachusetts Bay. … So far, so healthy. Now the question comes whether the MWRA’s expertise should be turned toward monitoring new and emerging threats to the marine environment: plastics, pharmaceuticals, hormones, nutrients, industrial chemicals, and the like.
→Source: The Boston GlobeThe Secret to Good Health May Be a Walk in the Park
In Minneapolis-St. Paul, the nation’s healthiest urban region, almost everyone lives within a 10-minute walk of a good public park. Shouldn’t we all?
→Source: The New York TimesEditorial: Voters say raise my taxes to preserve parks, but Beacon Hill isn’t keeping up with demand
The Community Preservation Act is so popular for a simple reason: It works, and taxpayers who vote for it can see the tangible results in their parks and neighborhoods. It’s improving the quality of life in Massachusetts, and well worth additional investment from the state.
→Source: The Boston GlobeDowntown Waterfront Coastal Resilience Study
Starting in 2019, this study will be conducted in various neighborhoods, including the Wharf District, as part of city’s Resilient Boston Harbor vision to protect our waterfront from rising sea level and climate change.
→Source: North End WaterfrontRecurring events
- Friends of the East Boston Greenway: →Monthly Meeting
- Friends of the Boston HarborWalk: →Monthly Meeting