CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF BOSTON HARBOR NOW
Boston Harbor Now’s first decade marks a powerful chapter in the ongoing transformation of a Boston Harbor that is more connected, inclusive, and resilient for future generations.
Since our founding in 2016 following the merger of the Boston Harbor Island Alliance and Boston Harbor Association, we have built upon the extraordinary work of our predecessors and past champions of the harbor to advance access, climate readiness, and economic vitality, working to turn our vision of a harbor that benefits everyone into a reality.
Today, Boston Harbor Now is uniquely positioned to lead by bringing together partners and expanding opportunities for people to experience and shape Boston Harbor, its waterfront, and the islands.
As we celebrate this milestone, we look back at ten years of impact, but we also look ahead as we build a 21st-century Boston Harbor that connects, protects, prospers, and stands as a model for waterfront cities around the world.
A DECADE OF IMPACT
Click into each section below to explore Boston Harbor Now's impact over the past ten years.
A Harbor Of Belonging
Once an unwelcoming edge of the city, Boston Harbor has become a community gathering place, a shoreline where stories converge, cultures connect, and people feel a sense of welcome and belonging. Each year, the Harbor draws 11 million visits to Boston’s 43-mile Harborwalk, where families, friends, neighbors, and visitors come to stroll, play, and experience the waterfront.
Over the past decade, Boston Harbor Now has lowered barriers and expanded equitable access, to draw many people to the Harborwalk and to take over three hundred thousand people to the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park. Through partnerships with more than 450 nonprofits and community organizations, we continue to expand opportunities for connection across the region, in support of public health and well-being.
From Eastie Week and Community Cruises to Innovation Islands and Southie Summer Nights, our programs make the harbor our home—a home where everyone belongs. Harbor-wide events like the New Year’s Eve Ice Sculpture Stroll continue to create shared moments that welcome people to the water and help them connect with one another.
A Harbor Of Resilience
Boston Harbor is on the front lines of climate change, and Boston Harbor Now is helping to lead the way toward a safer future. Through our leadership with the Stone Living Lab, we are advancing global models for nature-based climate adaptation, bringing together science, community, and nature to shape the future of our coast.
In 2024, the Lab installed North America’s first Living Seawalls, transforming traditional infrastructure into thriving habitat that helps protect our shoreline. At the same time, Boston Harbor Now is advancing Harborwalk 2.0, a 21st century vision that integrates access and resilience into the design of Boston’s future waterfront and pursuing a climate resiliency plan for the islands, an essential ecosystem that is also our region’s first line of defense against the impact of coastal storms. Behind the scenes we are working hard to influence policy and regulation to enable these projects and supporting the Green Ribbon’s Coastal Resiliency Working Group to find ways to finance the needed changes.
Through research, advocacy, and partnership, we are influencing waterfront development, local and state climate policy, and public and private investments in the waterfront, harbor, and islands. Our work ensures that the strength of Boston Harbor extends far beyond its shoreline, helping communities prepare for and adapt to a changing climate.
A Harbor Of Innovation And Strength
Boston Harbor is not only a place of beauty, but also a working harbor and powerful engine of commerce, connection, and opportunity. Over the past ten years, Boston Harbor Now has helped fund, oversee, and manage more than $5 million in capital improvements across the Harbor Islands and key gateways, including docks, piers, visitor infrastructure, and critical planning efforts like the Peddocks Island Master Plan, the Water Transportation Plan, and our Working Port Reports.
We have championed the protection and stewardship of Boston’s working port by producing research, shaping policy, and advocating for Designated Port Areas that sustain the region’s maritime economy. At the same time, we are helping reimagine water transportation by partnering with ferry operators, advancing business planning, and supporting a transition to greener, more connected systems.
Our commitment to innovation is also reflected in the Boston Waterfront Visitation and Equity Study, the first of its kind, which will guide future investment and ensure the waterfront evolves to better serve all communities. Together, this work strengthens Boston Harbor as a place of possibility, now and for generations to come.
Resources
Explore a decade's worth of research, reports, comment letters, and studies representing Boston Harbor Now's learning and leadership.
Comment Letters
A decade of commenting on waterfront developments that contribute to improved public access and resiliency.
Water Transportation Business Plan
A Plan developed in conjunction with MassDOT and Massport to identify new financially sustainable routes, leading to the development of new inner harbor routes and the case for green ferries.
Working Port Report
Two whitepapers that highlighted the importance of the Port and potential efforts to grow the understanding and support for it.
Stone Living Lab
Project information, resources, news, and events from the Stone Living Lab team.
Harborwalk 2.0 Design Guidelines
Design guidelines to best deliver public access and resiliency on The Boston Harborwalk.
Fort Point Neighborhood Resource Guide
Development of a model for community engagement involving residents and design professionals that resulted in new ideas for the Fort Point Channel.
Nature-Based Approaches MA Bill
A bill pending in the legislature to support DEP’s permitting of nature-based research and pilot projects.
Waterfront Visitation & Equity Study
A groundbreaking study to determine who uses the Harborwalk and Islands and who doesn’t.
Peddocks Island Plan
DCR and NPS’s plan for possible futures for Peddocks Island to better protect its natural and cultural resources and provide the public with improved educational and recreational opportunities.
Vision: To The Harbor And Islands
Our vision for the next 40 years.
COMING SOON
Events & activities
Help us celebrate our 10-year anniversary!
spectacle on Boston Harbor, our 10th anniversary celebration — June 9, 2026
Join us on June 9 for Spectacle on Boston Harbor, a one-of-a-kind evening that brings the Boston Harbor community together to celebrate Boston Harbor and Boston Harbor Now’s 10th Anniversary. Set on the Harbor, our signature gala gathers supporters, partners, and leaders to honor a decade of impact and to invest in what comes next. More than a celebration, Spectacle is a moment to come together around a shared vision for a Harbor that connects, protects, and prospers for generations to come.
Boston harbor for all summit — Fall 2026
Please join Boston Harbor Now and the Coalition for a Resilient and Inclusive Waterfront for a half-day summit exploring the findings of the Waterfront Visitation and Equity Study. The event brings together 300 advocates, planners, community members, and policymakers, to discuss access, identity, and belonging along Boston’s waterfront. We will look at how different communities experience the waterfront, how transportation and design shape access, how climate resilience intersects with equity, and how data can guide meaningful action. This summit also commences CRIW’s 2026 Wellness Weekend series.
our next decade
The next decade of Boston Harbor’s transformation starts now. With rising seas, growing demand for access, and the need to strengthen our waterfront for the future, this moment calls for leadership and investment. Your investment will help Boston Harbor Now expand access, advance resilience, and build a waterfront that works for everyone. Invest today and help shape the future of Boston Harbor.