SUMMARY

The City of Boston has become a recognized leader in promoting “sustainability”—the wise use of scarce land, water and energy resources, with attention to environmental impacts.  Global climate change concerns have led to commitments by local and state officials and the private sector to address greenhouse gas emissions.  Mayor Thomas M. Menino has enacted a new “green” building code to spur construction of energy-efficient buildings and to address groundwater issues, and issued an Executive Order committing Boston to significant reductions in municipal energy use.  Governor Deval Patrick rejoined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) to address emissions at the state’s power plants.  Progress of local environmental quality is mixed.  Water quality in Boston Harbor and the Charles River has improved, regional air pollution from industry and power plants is declining, and substantial progress has been made toward reducing diesel pollution from buses and construction equipment.  However, and improved Boston Harbor has not resulted in clean beaches, and improvements in air quality are hindered by stagnant fuel efficiency standards, more vehicles per person, and a greater number of miles driven per vehicle.  Greater Boston residents and businesses continue to increase their energy use, with electricity demands projected to rise 1.1% annually. Each Boston resident in now responsible for 15.4 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.  Boston has added 120 acres of new parkland on Spectacle Island, 40 acres of parkland along the Charles River and the Rose Kennedy Greenway are being developed as a part of the Central Artery Project, nearly 40 miles have been completed along the HarborWalk, and new parks have been developed in East Boston, South Boston and Dorchester.  But state funding for the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s urban parks system has plummeted.  Massachusetts now ranks last among the state in per capita spending on parks and recreation.  Other challenges facing Boston’s environment include the disproportionate share of environmental toxins and health burdens borne by communities of color and continuing regional sprawl, driven in large part by high housing costs in the core, which increases commutes, congestion, local air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.

CONTEXT

Boston’s environmental diversity is shaped by the relationship between land, water, and air and the biodiversity these resources support.  While 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 at Boston Harbor, with waterfronts experiencing a renaissance following a clean-up effort that took more than a decade and cost almost $4 billion.  The 30 some islands dotting the Harbor have been joined into the new Boston Harbor Islands National Park.  In 2005, Spectacle Island opened 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 parks and playgrounds owned and managed by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, 2,200 acres managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and open spaces owned by private groups such as the Boston Natural Areas Network, which manages 175 community gardens and more than 1,400 acres of urban wilds.  Both Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Governor Deval Patrick have recognized the relationship between energy and the environment by redefining the city and state agencies to encompass energy generation and emissions from power plants, newer “distributed” generation systems, and the efficiency with which energy is used for home heating and cooling, transportation, commerce and industry. The confluence of energy and the environment is also supported and tracked by groups such as the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Renewable Energy Trust, the Environmental League of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and many local open space and environmental agencies and organizations.

Key Trends

	Despite slow population growth, Greater Boston’s residents are, on average, "living larger," increasing pressure on environmental and energy resources. Energy use, including electricity demand, continues to increase and with it emissions of carbon dioxide and other “greenhouse gases” that cause global climate change. Public spending on environmental protection and on environmental assets such as parks has declined steadily in recent years, although in fiscal year 2006 the state’s environmental budget received its first funding increase in five years. More »

Accomplishments & Developments

	Boston became the first major city in the United States to incorporate “green building” requirements into its zoning code for large development projects.  Massachusetts joined 8 other Northeastern states to create a regional system for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.  Public Policies and market demand encouraged “smart growth” and transit-oriented development rather than low-density, automobile-dependent growth. More »

Challenges

	Massachusetts is 90% dependent on imported fossil fuels for its energy compared to 60% for the nation.  Communities of color and low-income neighborhoods  in Boston and statewide shoulder a disproportionate share of environmental and environmental health burdens.  Greater Boston remains challenged to develop innovative management tools to rebuild the region’s fisheries and protect local ocean resources.  More »