|
THE CONTEXT
KEY TRENDS AND FINDINGS
MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND INNOVATIONS 2002 - 2004
REMAINING CHALLENGES
THE CONTEXT
Boston’s environment is shaped, both literally and figuratively, by the relationship between land and water. Boston sits at the confluence of the Charles, Neponset and Mystic Rivers. The combined watersheds of these three rivers include 57 cities and towns and drain an area of more than 400 square miles. These rivers come together in Boston at Boston Harbor, with waters and waterfronts that are experiencing a renaissance following a clean-up effort that has taken more than a decade and cost $3.8 billion to date. The more than thirty islands that dot the harbor have been joined into the Boston Harbor Islands National Park; and in 2005, Spectacle Island is scheduled open to the public with a marina, visitor center, beaches and miles of walking trails.
The islands are only a small part of the city’s extensive network of more than 7,000 acres of publicly- and privately-owned open spaces. This open space system includes more than 215 city-managed parks and playgrounds, 2,200 acres managed by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, 175 community gardens, and more than 30 urban wilds. Greater Boston’s environmental inventory also includes less visible resources and assets, such as the air we breathe and the energy that is used to power homes and businesses. Greater Boston’s natural resources and environmental are, however, at risk from a variety of forces, ranging from budget cuts to sprawling land development patterns to the local consequences of global climate change.
KEY TRENDS AND FINDINGS
Greater Boston’s residents are "living larger," putting greater pressure on environmental resources. Massachusetts’ population is stable, having grown slightly between 2000 and 2002 and actually declining between 2003 and 2004. The City of Boston’s population grew slightly, by about 3% between 1990 and 2000. While the number of residents has remained flat, however, the number of households is rising — as the same number of people live in more households of fewer people: in 1970 the average household in Massachusetts had 3.12 people, but by 2000 this had dropped to 2.51 people per household. The region’s currently unsustainable use of resources such as land, energy and water is increasingly being driven by this growing number of smaller households and by other consumption trends such as driving more and living in larger homes. The number of automobiles registered in the City of Boston grew 36% between 1990 and 2000, while the city’s population grew only 3% during that period. Homes in Massachusetts are also getting bigger: between 1970 and 2002 the average lot size for new homes grew by 47% and the average size of the living area of new houses grew by 44%, according to Massachusetts Audubon’s Losing Ground report. And Massachusetts’ residents are consuming more but recycling less: recycling rates actually dropped from 48% in 2000 to 46% in 2001. (see indicator 5.1)
Boston is becoming a major center for environmentally-friendly "green buildings." In 2004, Mayor Menino’s Green Building Task Force recommended that all City facilities be certified as "green" and that large projects reviewed under Boston zoning be required to meet green standards within three years. Even before the Task Force issued its recommendations, construction of green buildings has been increasing and Boston has become home to several state-of-the-art "green buildings."
Low-density, automobile-dependent growth known as "sprawl" continues to drive many environmental conditions in Greater Boston. According to Massachusetts Audubon’s Losing Ground report, the amount of land in the state lost to sprawl development increased from 33 acres per day between 1971 and 1985 to 40 acres per day between 1985 and 1999. The total land loss due to sprawl is nearly twice the amount of land being "visibly developed," due to impacts such as road building to support the new development. The actual tally was about 78 acres per day from 1985 to 1999. Preliminary data from 2000-2002 indicates that the rate of land impacted by development has dropped to a still-unacceptable 63 acres total per day. Diffuse development forces people to drive greater distances each day, contributing to the steady increase in vehicle-miles traveled in Massachusetts (see Transportation), resulting in growing emissions of both greenhouse gases and air pollution from cars and other motor vehicles. It also generates water pollution, often in the form of polluted storm-water runoff, as well as increasing demand for new supplies of drinking water.
Collaborative regional and statewide efforts are laying the groundwork for sustainable development and smart growth. The work of the broadly-based Commonwealth Housing Task Force led to the 2004 passage of a smart growth housing law, called Chapter 40R, designed to encourage housing and mixed-use development near transit stops, in town centers and on brownfield sites. New coalitions have been formed, cutting across traditional sector lines, to involve disparate stakeholders with a common interest in promoting smart growth and sustainable development. The Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance brings together environmental, housing and planning organizations to make the idea of "smart growth" a reality in Massachusetts. Action for Regional Equity is a coalition of 20 community-based and statewide organizations committed to equitable development and addressing continuing disparities in affordable housing, transportation investment, and equitable development. And the Metropolitan Area Planning Council has launched MetroFuture, a large-scale participatory initiative to update the agency's 1990 regional p
|
