Climate Ready Downtown Boston and North End was the fifth, and final, district-level translation of the recommendations from the 2016 Climate Ready Boston report, developing localized flood resilience strategies for Boston’s central business district and historic waterfront. The STOSS and ONE led venture produced short- and long-term, layered infrastructure and open space strategies to protect against successive changes in sea levels and storm effects, and that leverage resiliency efforts for improvements beneficial to local communities, the environment, historic assets, public agencies, and private landowners. Building upon the team’s previous work and lessons learned in East Boston, Charlestown, and South Boston (Moakley Park), STOSS and ONE (supported by Kleinfelder, Woods Hole Group, and Arcadis) proposed a dynamic, future-forward adaptation of downtown Boston, with a particular focus on ensuring the long-term viability of the maritime character and operationality of the waterfront.
The project utilized multi-pronged engagement to reach individual property owners, public agencies, existing and potential partners, as well as community members and groups — with the goal of building consensus. Feedback from this process and regular guidance from the steering committee was filtered back through design proposals, tailoring these strategies to the circumstances and stakeholders at hand. The feasibility study developed concepts to address flood entry points, to reduce flood risk. The proposed solutions explore adaptation strategies for historic buildings, open space, and 400 year old wharfs.
The final report is available here.
Status: Unbuilt
Location: Boston, MA, US
