HARBORWALK 2.0
Harborwalk 2.0 is a bolder vision for the waterfront of Boston and the surrounding communities.
Nearly four decades of planning and development has created an extensive network of waterfront paths and parks on public and private property. Chapter 91, a state law that provides public access rights to the water and expands the public benefits to filled tidelands, helped the City of Boston to establish a waterfront walking path across public and private lands that has been branded as the “Harborwalk.” The nearly 40 miles of waterfront access is publicly accessible, but it is not all equally welcoming or well-prepared for the climate crisis.
Boston Harbor Now is pushing for a bolder waterfront vision encapsulated by
Harborwalk 2.0:
- RESILIENCE – The waterfront should be prepared for the impacts of climate change, including coastal and stormwater flooding and heat.
- EQUITY – The waterfront should center equity and inclusion in the development of its design, construction practices, tenants, and programming.
- ACCESS – The waterfront should be accessible and welcoming, reflected in its activation, connectivity to other waterfront paths and to the city’s neighborhoods, and signage.
VISUALIZING HARBORWALK 2.0
Learn more about what this could look like in our report:
Visualizing Harborwalk Doc_Landscape_122123
This guide illustrates some of the ways the principles might be realized across a range of coastal conditions. Though written for Boston, these principles can be applied to other urban waterfronts in Massachusetts and beyond.
FORT POINT RESOURCE GUIDE
The Fort Point Resource Guide highlights opportunities for creating a neighborhood waterfront that is more welcoming and better prepared for the impacts of climate change, particularly south of the Summer Street Bridge. The Fort Point Resource Guide is the formal outcome of the Fort Point Waterfront Community Design Workshop, a series of design workshops led by Boston Harbor Now in collaboration with the Boston Society for Architecture, Boston Society of Landscape Architects, Fort Point Neighborhood Association, Boston Planning Department, and Stone Living Lab.
Through this program, teams made up of a combination of residents, architects, and landscape architects worked together to create visual representations of a resilient, accessible, and equitable future – generating ideas that can help planning and development teams better understand the needs and wants of the Fort Point Channel community.
“I really enjoyed The Fort Point Waterfront Community Design Workshop because it allowed me to collaborate with a diverse group of individuals I might not engage with in my normal day-to-day experiences. It was fun, enlightening, and hopeful to brainstorm with my peers on how we can honor the character of our neighborhood while planning for our city’s future.”
–Brandon Chan, workshop participant
The Fort Point Resource Guide is a jumping-off point for–
- Residents, boaters, workers, and advocates who spend time in Fort Point and are envisioning positive changes for the neighborhood
- People working in a local, state, and national government looking for ideas developed at the community level
- Developers, architects, landscape architects, engineers, and other designers looking to invest in this area.
FP Resource Guide_Final Draft_09132024
AN ITERATIVE IDEA
Working with community members, other advocates, government agencies, and designers, we continue to refine our goals for Harborwalk 2.0. This blog post from February 2021 reflects our thinking at the time.
Want to get involved in the next chapter or bring community workshops to your neighborhood, contact Kelly Sherman at ksherman@bostonharbornow.org