Get ready for climate change! The city of Boston is. Last year, the city launched Climate Ready Boston, an initiative to prepare Greater Boston for climate change. Projections indicate that by the end of the century we can expect more than 30 percent of Boston to be flooded during storms at high tide as a result of sea level rise. Since 1921, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has collected data on sea levels in Boston. It tells us the local sea levels have risen 10 inches over 100 years – with the rate of change in the last decade nearly double the average of the past century. Scientists project changing climate conditions will cause the rate to accelerate and expect Boston Harbor to be as many as six feet above current levels by 2100.
The coming decades will be a period of increasing risk. Now is the time for us to plan and prepare for rising seas, stronger winds and higher temperatures. These challenges are daunting and complex. The commonwealth of Massachusetts, its cities, businesses and organizations are struggling to understand and address these issues.
Coastal communities in particular are beginning to understand the projections for sea level rise and the impacts it will have. Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and his Office of Environment and Energy are focused on getting the city ready for the effects of climate change. Chief of Environment and Energy Brian Swett is working with critical city departments, utilities, and with the mayor’s Green Ribbon Commission Climate Preparedness Working Group to assess risk and vulnerabilities, and develop actions and policy. The city and GRC commissioned two reports: “Preparing for the Rising Tide,” and “Building Resilience in Boston.” These documents provide a foundation for understanding risks and vulnerabilities, and offer a broad set of solutions to provide property owners with strategies for making their facilities more resilient to flooding, heat waves and higher winds.
In May, ULI Boston/New England will host “Living With Water: The Urban Implications,” a design charrette with its member experts to explore how to implement strategies for four distinctly different site typologies: the historic Back Bay neighborhood; new development in Boston’s Innovation District; a new, mixed-use construction project on the Revere waterfront; and a district planning initiative for Alewife – an area of Cambridge where storm water runoff combined with rising seas is of particular concern.
Rather than preparing for emergencies, these four interdisciplinary teams of architects, engineers, developers and financiers will focus on preparing for a “new normal” of climate change, when today’s hurricane-induced storm surge becomes tomorrow’s twice-daily high tide. They will work to answer four key questions:
- How do solutions affect the streetscape?
- What are the implications for policy makers?
- How do property owners and tenants assess and balance their costs and risks?
- What do different stakeholders need to do?
“Living with Water: The Urban Implications” will be the beginning of a multi-step process where Boston-area decision-makers will have the opportunity to explore solutions for climate preparedness and begin the work of implementing effective strategies. Through the process, members of ULI’s Sustainability Council, Sea Level Rise Committee and Urban Design Council will build on the existing foundation to generate and test best practices to help landowners, developers, designers and public officials protect their projects, investments and communities from the risks associated with sea level rise and climate change.
Following the charrette, a report will be produced with each team developing concrete solutions that can be implemented. The report will be presented at an event in September where speakers will share findings and develop best practices for Boston and the region.
Because of how it is situated, Greater Boston will be disproportionately impacted by the rise in sea levels. ULI, through its Sea Level Rise Committee, has convened four events on climate preparedness since 2011, including a day-long collaboration with Ceres on the financial and insurance industry response to climate risk. The intent of the Living With Water project is to build on this work while supporting the efforts of Boston, Cambridge, Revere and the real estate community to find solutions to these challenges. ULI Boston is committed to exploring the physical and financial implications climate change will have on the built environment and generate solutions. Thanks to a Resiliency Grant from the Kresge Foundation, ULI Boston can support this work and help our region move from the learning phase of climate change to the solution development phase.
Dennis Carlberg, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, is sustainability director for Boston University and a co-chair of the ULI Boston Sustainability Council.
