Daniel Arenz, assistant project manager with Tocci Building Corporation, installs flood vents at the Coppersmith Village in East Boston. The project—which sits 150 feet from the edge of the Boston Inner Harbor—includes 15 townhomes and 56 affordable housing units. Sea level rise around Boston has accelerated over the last ten years and is now rising by about 1 inch every 8 years according to a 2019 article “Rising Sea Level, Boston Underwater” by Puja Das at Northeastern University. Buildings like this one are examples of the steps being taken to design for the future. Architects and developers who incorporate climate change data into the design process are helping to insure the survival of the city. “We probably have about 20 flood vents, some double stacked, and the purpose of the flood vents is that if water does flood onto the building this flap will open up to allow water to pass through, which will then equalize the pressure on both sides of the wall,” says Arenz. Building guidelines and regulations are becoming more ambitious. In former Mayor Marty Walsh’s resiliency and carbon emissions reduction goals plan, he envisioned a Carbon Neutral Boston by the year 2050.

David Flaschenriem, an architect with The Narrow Gate, flips through a drawing set for an affordable housing building. The Narrow Gate designed the Coppersmith Village project in East Boston, which is located just across the street from the harbor. “This challenge that climate change poses is...going to come to that moment where we feel like [it] is our guiding focus,” says Flaschenriem. “Social justice demands this of us,” he continues. The buildings in Boston account for over 70% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the city according to the City of Boston’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory report from 2005-2018. Climate-aware building design, whether for a retrofit, rehab, or new construction, is essential for the health and longevity of the city and its people. Boston has a unique opportunity to encourage innovation and creativity to envision what kind of city it will become in the future, employing thousands of its citizens along the way to advance the transformation.

Jasmine Nijjar, education director at Piers Park Sailing Center, instructs a student on how to right a capsized sailboat in Boston Harbor. Piers Park Sailing Center is located at Piers Park in East Boston, and serves as a valued community resource for youth in the neighborhood. “We try to educate the kids as much as we can through the Science and Sailing program and the Harbor Explorers program,” says Nijjar. “We have lessons that we’ve put together about different climate issues that are happening and ways they can help and the little things that they can do with marine pollution and how they can do their part to prevent that and reduce the amount of pollution that’s in the harbor and with greenhouse gases.” Climate Ready East Boston’s near-term strategies include a deployable floodwall on the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway, new elevated open spaces at the Greenway entrance, and the design and construction of Piers Park Phase II. “These approaches will protect more than 10,800 residents, at least 250 businesses, and critical infrastructure from a 100-year flood event with sea level rise at levels projected for 2030, preventing an estimated $620 million in losses.”

Amy Whitesides (left), studio director at STOSS Landscape Urbanism, and Julie Eaton (right), lead resiliency engineer at Weston and Sampson, look over plans to redesign Moakley Park in South Boston to be both a public space and a flood-resilient area. Adding more green space that can be used by the community increases the overall value of a neighborhood and also creates a natural buffer zone during flood events. “When we’re looking at the technical data that’s helping inform the design moving forward, it’s really [about] understanding where the water is coming from, what are the concerns that we have on the site today and as well as in the future looking forward with climate change,” says Whitesides.

Olajuwon Dickerson, who works in operations, puts caution tape around an uncovered hole leading down into the lower levels of the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant on Boston Harbor. The facility, which is managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), serves “2.3 million people in 43 communities, including Boston proper. That is more than 1 in 3 Massachusetts residents,” according to a 2017 Curbed Boston article, “Deer Island Treatment Plant: 9 fun facts about the Boston area’s sewage hub.”

John Bates, Tool Maker, repairs a pump part for a high speed pump for the waste water at the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in Boston Harbor. “Because the treatment plant is in the middle of Boston Harbor, we are very vulnerable to weather [...] and climate change,” says David Duest, the director of the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. “So, the facility was actually built up to [protect] it in a sustainable way from sea level rise, and it was designed to handle a direct hit from a category 3 hurricane, 100[-year] storm event plus 2 ½ feet of sea level rise from polar ice cap melt.

Carl Silva, (left) Building and Grounds and Maximo Soto, (right) Buildings and Grounds work at the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in Boston Harbor. "So, we were one of the first facilities in the nation to actually prepare for that,” Duest continues. Even with the newer FEMA maps, Deer Island’s design and operations will not be impacted by flooding.

Craig Richards Jr, Buildings and Grounds, steps out of a small transport cart at the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in Boston Harbor. During design, plant process tanks were raised almost two feet, and the outfall was increased from 24 to 24.5 feet in diameter to accommodate sea level rise without reducing the plant capacity. With every building repair the team incorporates updated climate projections into the rebuild. “We’re going through several major projects right now, and we just build them into the rehab of each facility and that’s how we plan to mitigate,” says Duest. “It’s easier to plan and prepare now than to go through an event like New York or New Jersey went through and try to mitigate post effects.”

Marilyn Dumont, a motor-person with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), drives a Blue Line train between Bowdoin in downtown Boston and Wonderland in Revere. The Blue Line is one of the most important transit links in the region, connecting the North Shore with downtown, and it was the first underwater tunnel system in the nation. A WBUR article in June of 2021, noted that “In 2019, the Blue Line carried almost 70,000 people a day from East Boston and Revere to Boston.” In 2018, the Aquarium station flooded and caused an interruption in service. The MBTA is taking action by installing floodgates, repairing existing water-damaged infrastructure and conducting other upgrades throughout the system. “[Climate change] does have a big effect here on the North Shore,” says Dumont. You try to work around it but if other areas flood on the T, it really has a big effect because now you’re looking to see if you can get bus transportation to replace the train.” According to the “New Renewable Energy Contracts in Effect at MBTA”, starting in January 2021, 100% of the MBTA’s system is powered by certified renewable electricity and will save over $3 million annually.

Maria works cleaning and preparing fish at Red’s Best on the Boston Fish Pier which was built in 1910. Over the years, because of overfishing, climate change, increased regulations and economic stressors, “the number of fishing vessels in Boston have dropped from several hundred to under twenty,” according to an article titled “City of Water” from Northeastern University. But the Boston Fish Pier and the processing plants located there still remain, and some are looking to more sustainable and economically stable methods to help save the fishing industry. Red’s Best is setting an example by sourcing their products locally and supporting American fishermen and women. Jared Auerbach, the founder of Red’s Best, developed technology that tracks the catch in its journey from dock to consumer. Using a QR code, the consumer can follow the path of the seafood and learn about the fisherman who caught it. They work with over 1,000 local Massachusetts fishermen up and down the coast and support undervalued or unfamiliar local fisheries such as dogfish. Through traceable technologies like this and by supporting local fisheries the consumer can reduce the carbon footprint associated with seafood consumption.

Shay Bryan, a bartender at the Boston Sail Loft, pulls wine glasses from the ceiling rack during a midday lunch shift. The historical Sail Loft is located on top of piers above the water on the Boston waterfront and first opened in 1807. The pipes and utilities are installed on the ceiling in case water enters the building. “I’m a firm believer that as strong as Mother Nature is, things have a way of adjusting themselves,” says Jamie Tipping, owner of the Boston Sail Loft. “Now that’s not to say that it won’t be without some pain. But whether it comes within my lifetime or not, that remains to be seen. And this is not a political statement, this is just the reality. You can call it global warming or whatever, the atmosphere and the weather patterns have changed.”

Jenn Stockbridge, a boat captain at Boston Harbor Cruises (now Boston Harbor City Cruises), drives a ferry from Long Wharf to Pier 4 in Charlestown. As part of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), the ferry system also has routes to Hingham, Hull, and Logan Airport year-round. The ferry network is responsible for transporting approximately 4,700 passengers per weekday, most of which are commuters who work in the city. There are also seasonal ferry services operated by Boston Harbor City Cruises and other companies providing service from Boston to Provincetown, Quincy, Salem, Winthrop, and the Boston Harbor Islands.

David Kennaley, a ferry captain with Boston Harbor City Cruises, operates the ferry line that connects Hingham, Hull, and Long Wharf. Expanded water transportation is an important step in helping to curb carbon emissions associated with commuter traffic and easing congestion on the roads. Boston Harbor Now is a leading advocate for additional ferry services and managed a regional process to develop business plans for new ferry routes as part of the Comprehensive Boston Harbor Water Transportation Study.

Tsugumi Maki, chief exhibitions and collections officer at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), sits on the museum’s steps overlooking the waterfront. The Seaport district, where the museum is located, is one of the most vulnerable parts of the city relative to sea level rise. “We’re thinking about, as cultural institutions, what we can do to reduce our carbon footprint. Whether it’s buying renewable energy, creating renewable energy, or thinking of other ways to mitigate disaster.” says Maki. “The harbor is this beautiful thing. It’s like this dichotomy that’s happening. We love the water because we can take ferries over to East Boston, to our Watershed location. We love the water because it gives us this beautiful view. But the water is the thing that threatens us the most.” Museums are known for their inspiration and education through artistic communication. The ICA is one of several who are taking on the climate change conversation to engage the local and even global community about science in an approachable, creative way – often by supporting artists such as John Akomfrah for his 2019 exhibition, Purple, which included an abstract video and large-scale map projections of sea level rise in Boston.

Harrie Slootbeek, collections and exhibits manager at the USS Constitution Museum, helps push a 400-pound War Billet Head from 1906 out of the flood line as staff perform a dry run of the museum’s flooding response plan. “We need to prepare for possible worst case scenarios where the water is actually going to come into the museum. At that point, we have a plan in place to actually remove the artifacts out of the galleries and bring them to higher ground,” says Robert Kiihne, director of exhibits at the USS Constitution Museum. Between 350–540 thousand people visit the museum annually and it is in the top 5 most visited museums in Boston. One of the artifacts in the museum includes a document of tidal record keeping from Loammi Baldwin Jr. in 1826. When added to the data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who started tracking Boston sea levels in the early 1920s, there is an accumulated data record from 200 years ago showing a total of 12 ¼ inches of sea level rise from 1826–2019.

Leroy Gordon, Kitchen Manager at the Smoke Shop, pulls out some meat that has been slowly smoking for several hours. The Smoke Shop sits 350 feet from the Fort Point Channel and is prone to current and future flooding. According to the City of Boston website South Boston report page, the adjoining South Boston Waterfront was “the fastest-growing urban area in the Commonwealth [from 2010 to 2013], adding approximately ten million square feet of development. South Boston is the most exposed neighborhood in Boston. As of 2014, industries in South Boston contributed more than $20 billion in annual output (sales and revenues) to Boston’s economy. Legal, financial, real estate, and insurance industries made up more than half of that value and close to half of the neighborhood’s 78,000 jobs. As soon as the 2070s, based on preliminary and conservative-modeled evaluations, Boston could face close to $80 million in annualized lost output and close to 600 annualized lost jobs due to expected flood damage to structures in South Boston.” Boston is exploring and implementing mitigation techniques including flood protections and infrastructure adaptation planning.

Tom Dougherty (left) and Ian Dougherty (right) are Local 88 Sandhogs. The father-and-son team cleans wood chips from the drill as they work to lay down pilings for a raised boardwalk at the Langone Park and Puopolo Playground in the North End. The drill crew dug some 60 feet into the coastline at the park’s edge for the construction of an elevated boardwalk. Langone Park and Puopolo Playground was recently redesigned and reconstructed to serve as both an outdoor recreational space and a natural buffer for flooding events. “Due to climate change I worry about the rising waters. This park actually did go underwater a couple of times due to a moon tide and also a storm surge at the same time,” says Al Khali, Field Engineer for Wes Construction. The salt water damages infrastructure and the plant life in the park. “We’re basically replacing everything that’s here with better stuff but we’re also raising it 3 ½ to 4 feet so ... it doesn’t get flooded as much,” Khali continues.

Charlie Silva, Local 4 drill operator (left) and Tom Dougherty (center) work to lay down pilings for a raised boardwalk at the Langone Park and Puopolo Playground in the North End. According to an October 29, 2020 news update on the City of Boston’s official website, “this is the first project within the Boston park system to integrate the standards set forth by the City of Boston’s Climate Resilient Design Standards and Guidelines for Protection of Public Rights-of-Way. The Parks Department built an integrated seawall internal to the park, with overlooks and seating on an elevated boardwalk, which can be raised in the future to increase flood protection. At completion, the project expands recreational opportunities, raises the level of the athletic fields out of the flood zone, elevates the Harborwalk by four feet, and makes the sea wall more structurally sound.” Including more open spaces and thoughtful design of public spaces is one important climate change mitigation

Labor Foreman Jacob Littlefield attaches stabilizers to the tension bars for the raised boardwalk construction at the Langone Park and Puopolo Playground in the North End of Boston.

Alex Harvey, aquarist I on the exhibits team at the New England Aquarium, replaces and cleans out water containers in the shorebird exhibit as visitors watch. The New England Aquarium (NEAQ), located in downtown Boston on Central Wharf, hosted over 1.3 million visitors a year and had approximately 480 employees with an annual revenue of $21.4 million before the pandemic.

David Allen, a freshwater gallery aquarist intern, feeds the redtail catfish inside the flooded forest tank in the freshwater gallery at the New England Aquarium.The U.S. government report, Fourth National Climate Assessment, predicts that “by 2050, average temperatures will be 4 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the pre-industrial era.” NEAQ is working to reduce their carbon footprint by sourcing all their electricity with 100% renewable energy.

Kim Podesta, marine mammal trainer II with the New England Aquarium, collects the feces of the fur seals and sea lions inside the seal enclosure as Ron, a two-year-old sea lion, looks on in the background. The feces are collected as part of ongoing research on the animals’ health. The NEAQ states on their “Taking Action on Climate Change” webpage, “working together is the only way to ensure our region is climate-resilient—something that is our obligation as a global conservation organization.” NEAQ is looking to be a leader in bringing communities and industries together to adapt to a new future of living with the effects of climate change. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Aquarium is partnering with East Boston, Hull, Lynn, and Chelsea to shape community-wide responses to climate change.

Tyler Mourey, aquarist I in the tropical gallery, dives into the exhibit to clean the glass and other objects within the tank at the New England Aquarium.

Rabie Fouinna, a doorman at the Boston Harbor Hotel, opens the door for people entering the building, as he has been doing for over 22 years. The hotel employs around 400 people, 45% of whom have been there for 15 years or more. It has 232 rooms overlooking the Boston Harbor and the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

Angela Wu, a housekeeping supervisor, wipes down the window of a room at the Boston Harbor Hotel. The City of Boston has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050. According to a WBUR article, “Boston Aims to be Carbon Free by 2050. Here are Five Takeaways From a New Report,” getting to carbon zero requires maximum energy efficiency and 100 percent clean electricity — and with buildings counting for more than two-thirds of the city’s emissions, “Boston will need to make big changes to reach carbon neutrality.”

Gigi Zeng, a housekeeper at the Boston Harbor Hotel, cleans the mirror inside the bathroom of a newly vacant room at the Hotel. All new buildings must meet high energy performance standards, existing buildings will need deep energy retrofits well beyond energy-efficient light bulbs and window replacements, and homes must switch from oil and gas to electricity from carbon-free or renewable sources.

Jose Montiel, sous chef at Boston Harbor Hotel, filets a white fish in preparation for the dinner rush at the Boston Harbor Hotel restaurant.