BOSTON, MA, June 29, 2021 – Today, 40 organizations from across the City of Boston launched the Coalition for a Resilient and Inclusive Waterfront to educate candidates and voters on issues impacting Boston’s waterfront in the 2021 municipal elections, with a specific focus on resilience, inclusivity, access, and economic vitality on Boston’s harbor, islands, and rivers. In the coming months, the Coalition will work together to create programming and engagement opportunities with voters and candidates to explore the issues facing the waterfront and elevate them in the citywide discourse. To anchor this work, the Coalition announced today that it will host a mayoral forum focused on critical waterfront issues on Thursday, July 29th at the New England Aquarium. The event will be open to the public and media, and details on tickets will be available in the coming days.
In tandem with today’s launch, the Coalition also released the results of a new poll conducted by The MassINC Polling Group, which surveyed 635 likely voters on a host of topics related to the Boston waterfront, and underscored the importance of convening a coalition that can help make these issues a priority throughout the election and beyond.
The poll, conducted between June 10-16, 2021, had a number of key findings, including:
87% of voters say that they support the creation of new open spaces for public use on the waterfront.
83% of voters say they support additional city government funding for climate change protections for specific neighborhoods in Boston.
81% of voters support the city government creating a set of climate change and community benefit standards for all developers who want to build on the Boston waterfront.
Only 38% of voters think the city’s racial diversity is reflected in activities on the waterfront, and only 55% of respondents think activities and dining on the water are affordable.
Voters, particularly in communities of color, want to see more investment in job creation and making the waterfront an affordable place to visit.
76% of voters think that the waterfront should be accessible to everyone, even if it means less land for development.
85% of voters say it should be a “major priority” for the next mayor to keep parks and open spaces available for everyone to use.
"The Mystic River flows into the north side of Boston Harbor, past richly diverse urban neighborhoods and life-critical regional infrastructure," said Julie Wormser, Deputy Director of the Mystic River Watershed Association. "Protecting these waterfront communities from both coastal flooding and economic displacement will require a third major civil engineering effort akin to the Big Dig or the Harbor cleanup. We've done it before, we can do it again."
The current list of community partner organizations for the Coalition for a Resilient and Inclusive Waterfront includes:
Alliance for Business Leadership
A Better City
Becoming A Man (BAM)
Black Economic Council of Massachusetts
Boston Children’s Museum
Boston Harbor Now
Boston Shipping Association
Boston Society for Architecture
Boston Society of Landscape Architects
Camp Harborview
Charles River Conservancy
Chinatown Main Streets
Conservation Law Foundation
East Boston Main Streets
East Boston Social Centers
Fields Corner Main Streets
Fort Point Neighborhood Association (FPNA)
Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands
Friends of the Charlestown Navy Yard
Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau
GreenRoots
Harborfront Neighborhood Alliance
Harborkeepers
Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association
Mystic River Watershed Association
NAACP Boston Branch
Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH)
Neponset River Watershed
New England Aquarium
North End Waterfront Residents Association (NEWRA)
Piers Park Sailing Center
Port Norfolk Civic Association
Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy
Save the Harbor/Save the Bay
South Boston Neighborhood House
The American City Coalition (TACC)
The Trustees of Reservations
West Fairmount Hill Community Group
Wharf District Council
YMCA of Greater Boston
“For an environmental justice organization like GreenRoots it is critical that we are taking the appropriate measures to ensure that our waterfront is not only prepared for coming coastal impacts from climate change, but also remains accessible to and a benefit for the communities that live near them,” said John Walkey, Waterfront Initiative Coordinator for GreenRoots. “Displacement of low income and BIPOC communities comes in many forms and our well intentioned efforts to ensure a resilient coastline can easily result in negative impacts for our communities, which is why this Coalition’s work is crucial to ensure that these issues are aired and that these communities have a seat at the table for these conversations.”
"We are proud to serve children and families in East Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop. Each of these communities is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise; our headquarters in Central Square in East Boston already borders a flood zone, said East Boston Social Centers. "We are grateful for the leadership of this coalition in drawing attention to these important issues and ensuring access to a high-quality vibrant waterfront for the diverse members of our communities."
About the Coalition for a Resilient and Inclusive Waterfront. The Coalition for a Resilient and Inclusive Waterfront is an alliance of diverse non-profit organizations focused on bringing the pressing issues facing Boston’s harbor and rivers to the forefront of the public conversation during the 2021 municipal election cycle. Through voter and candidate education and engagement, the coalition will focus on advancing a bold vision for the future of the city’s waterfront that prioritizes resilience, inclusivity, access, and economic vitality.
