What we're reading this week | The #FridayFive
Take Me to the River: New Hudson River Park Pier is Ready for Visitors
Spectrum Local News, October 1, Roger Clark
It’s a unique concept: a tidal marsh constructed at the end of a pier, 800 feet from the shore. That’s exactly what the Tide Deck is, on the western end of Hudson River Park's new Pier 26. "You kind of forget actually that it's a built structure and that it kind of goes down to the channel of the river,” said Hudson River Park Senior Director of Education and Outreach Tina Walsh, who added that it looks like it's the coast, but it’s built up from the river, featuring plants and a breakwater. [READ MORE]
East Boston can learn from Seaport mistakes
CommonWealth, September 28, Juanita Gibson
East Boston’s waterfront may be just a quick ferry ride from the Seaport District, but it might as well be a world away. While the Seaport has become an exclusive playground for wealthy residents and multinational corporations – even though the land on which the glass towers and luxury condos are built belongs to all of us – East Boston is a place where Boston’s industrial past dominates. It’s a problem. Too many of Eastie’s residents don’t have access to Boston Harbor despite it being the longest stretch of waterfront in the city and having the most striking views. [READ MORE]
Boston seeks partner for urban forest plan
SmartCitiesWorld.net, October 1
Boston mayor Martin Walsh and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department are looking for a partner to design and develop a vision for the protection and expansion of the city’s tree canopy goals. The 20-year plan will set citywide goals for canopy protection as well as help to tackle climate change and enhance the quality of life for all Bostonians. [READ MORE]
Grant to Fund a Regional Climate-Driven Heat Plan in 15 Metro Boston Communities
Revere Journal, September 29
The City of Cambridge and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) today announced they will join forces to develop a regional project to plan and prepare for climate change-induced extreme heat, through a $268,820 state Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action grant from the Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The award will enable MAPC to develop a regional project for the Metro Mayors Coalition, a group of 15 Boston area municipal leaders whose efforts include a Climate Preparedness Taskforce designed to address climate change issues at a regional level. [READ MORE]
Saving our Coast
Northshore Magazine, October 2020, Sarah Shemkus
Climate change is reshaping the North Shore. At Crane Beach in Ipswich, erosion has swept away land equivalent to 84 football fields since the 1950s. In 2018, a storm destroyed the historic Magnolia Pier in Gloucester. The Great Marsh that embraces the upper edge of the coast is sinking in places from a legacy of ditching and flooding. “We are starting to witness unprecedented changes," says Tom O'Shea, program director for Coast & Natural Resources for the Trustees of Reservations. [READ MORE]