Mystic River Waterfront Vision
Community-based visioning for the Mystic waterfront… we want your input!
Through community engagement and a resident-led Steering Committee, we are developing a waterfront vision for the lower Mystic River (Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Somerville, and Revere). The vision will reflect public and private interests to create a thriving, inclusive, and climate resilient waterfront. Coming out of that visioning process is a coalition of people with strong relationships who want this vision to be implemented, as well as a series of neighborhood-scale projects that can be pursued as part of the larger vision. The community engagement phase of the visioning process will take place in the summer and fall of 2024.
This work is supported by the Resilient Mystic Collaborative, Mystic River Watershed Association, Stoss, the Consensus Building Institute, and the City of Chelsea via a MA Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program grant.
Map of project area in the Lower Mystic River Watershed. The project area includes parts of Boston (Charlestown, East Boston), Chelsea, Everett, Revere, Malden, Medford, Somerville, and Cambridge. Credit: Stoss Landscape Urbanism
Our Objectives and Principles
Protect waterfront communities and vulnerable populations from shoreline and inland flooding
Protect critical infrastructure important to the functioning of basic services
Increase access to cooler, welcoming, public green spaces near the water
Establish effective, equitable public, and coordinated connectivity and access to and along the shoreline
Sustain the local workforce
Preserve thriving neighborhoods, minimize or avoid displacement, and enhance affordable housing
Build value together for community, municipalities, and developers
Our Participatory Approach to Planning:
Dialogue: community meetings and roundtable discussions
Engagement: surveys and interactive tools
Facilitation: public-private agreements, enhancing current developments
Design: mapping exercises, spatial analysis
Advisory Committee engagement charette (May 2024). Credit: Consensus Building Institute
Children at a Chinese Cultural Connections event on the Malden River creating their ideal waterfront with 3D kit developed by Stoss (June 2024). Credit: Consensus Building Institute
We want your feedback!
Take our survey here:
Project Partners and Funding
Project Partners: Resilient Mystic Collaborative municipalities supported by the Mystic River Watershed Association, Stoss, Consensus Building Institute, City of Chelsea
Funder: Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program
Municipal sponsor: City of Chelsea (project lead)
