The future of coastal urban open spaces in the

face of climate change: a Boston case study

Emily Moothart & Ellen Douglas, PE, PhD
University of Massachusetts -Boston

Abstract
Boston, Massachusetts is a densely populated city located on the Atlantic coastline. Now more
Results Discussion
than ever, Boston is experiencing serious affects from climate change, most notably sea level rise
and associated coastal flooding. Examples include frequent flooding from the King Tide, storms
such as Hurricane Sandy and most recently, the January 2018 ‘Bomb Cyclone’. Although we often
talk about the impacts of flooding to typically high-value infrastructure, open spaces provide a
wealth of ecosystem services that would otherwise be rarely found in urban coastal areas. The
Today Wetlands and beaches
will be the most vul-
erable to flooding.
30%
Flooding Depth Distribution in Boston

goal of this research was to understand the vulnerability of open spaces to coastal flooding in 25%
Boston and determine the role that open spaces have in the broader community. A comprehensive 40% more land area
geospatial database of open spaces within the Boston Harbor domain was developed. Maps were and 10% more open 20%
created to illustrate the extent and depth to which these open spaces will be inundated during a
1% coastal flood exceedance probability in the present, 2030, and 2070. Calculations to determine space will be flooded
the extent to which open spaces mitigate flood risks to urban infrastructure as well as sugges- by 2030 than in 2013. 15%

Introduction
tions for managing urban coastal open spaces in the future will also be provided. East
Cambridge Boston
The majority of this 10%
Downtown flooded area is at
depths of less than 1 5%
% of flooded land
Back Bay ft, which may be clas- that contains
open space
James Tobin
South sified as “nuisance 0%
Boston flooding” rather than 2013 2030 2070
Boston is the 3rd most densely populated
major city in the US at 13,321 people per disruptive or cata- < 1 ft 1-4 ft 4-8 ft > 8 ft
mile2. strophic flooding.

Following settlement in 1630, much of the In 2070, ~half of the flooded land area is projected to fall within the 1-4 ft
tidal flats were filled. depth range and nearly 1/3 could be flooded at depths greater than 4 ft.
Boston has a rich and abundant network of By 2070, the total land area vulnerable to flooding is ~50% greater than in
open spaces and is home to the first public 2030, and ~30% more open space will be flooded in 2070 than 2030.
park in the US - the Boston Common.
We also conducted a
Boston has had 21 state/federally declared Open Space Users’ Ecosystem Service Valuation survey of Boston open
disasters since 1991 - most resulting from Raw Materials
Nor’easter related events that cause high space users (N=100)
Most
to determine which

2030
winds and extreme flooding. Important
ecosystem services
Recreation Aesthetic
Climate change in Boston is predicted to Bostonians value most.
cause more frequent and intense storms, hotter days, and sea level rise (SLR)(est. ~3 According to the
ft in next 50 years). survey, they valued
aesthetic and recre-
As a result, humans will have less mobility, more exposure to harm, decreased quality ational services most
Food Climate highly, followed by mi-
of life, and increased climate related mortality (Climate Ready Boston, 2016).
croclimate regulation.
East Least These ecosytem ser-
This research serves to identify which open spaces will be impacted by SLR and coast- Cambridge Boston Important
Protection
al flooding, and to what extent in the present, 2030, and 2070. vices will be impacted

Methods
Downtown by climate change.
Green Space Conservation Playground Public Plazas
Land & Rec

Conclusion
Back Bay

South
Boston
1) Defined open space categories using EPA definition (EPA, https://www3.epa.gov/re
gion1/eco/uep/openspace.html.)
Green Space | Playgrounds & Rec | Public Plazas | Conservation Land | Wetlands | Other Boston coastal open spaces currently serve as a viable buffer for the 1%
annual flood, but will be vulnerable to flooding in the years following 2030.
2) Developed a comprehensive open space geodatabase in GIS (see figure below):
Recommendations: Incorporate shoreline nature-based solutions to acco-
Existing Geodatabases Used: modate coastal flooding.
Protected and Open Spaces | MassGIS
Open Space | Analyze Boston/City of Boston Purchasing vacant urban property should be considered to serve as open
National Wetlands Inventory | MassGIS spaces to buffer coastal flooding, minimize excess urban stormwater, and im-
prove quality of life.
3) Cross-referenced the geodatabases to create Boston Harbor Open Space Database
(BH-OSD)

2070
Next Steps: Evaluate the failures and successes of other coastal resiliency
projects and create a nature-based solutions “typology” for Boston that
4) Overlayed the Boston Harbor Flood Risk Model (1% coastal flood exceedence prob- would minimize the impacts of SLR and coastal flooding.
ability) on top of the BH-OSD
Prioritize specific sites where improvements in nature-based solutions would
most protect the coastline from SLR and storm surge.

Acknowledgments
Metro Boston Study Area Green Space
Playgrounds & Rec
Public Plazas East
Cambridge Boston
Conservation Land Open Space
Wetlands Area Distribution Downtown My advisor, Ellen Douglas (PE,PhD); Gerard Cogliano, my co-researcher for
Other much of this project; the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy for providing re-
Back Bay
search funding, especially Jim Levitt; the National Science Foundation’s Inte-
South grative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program for
Boston
funding my conference travel.

Sources
1) Bosma, K.,. E. Douglas, P. Kirshen, S. Miller, K. McAr thur, C. Watson, 2015. MassDOT-FHWA Pilot Project
For more about me
and my research
Repor t: Climate Change and Extreme Weather Vulnerability and Adaptation Options for the Central Ar- visit my por tfolio
tery/Tunnel System in Boston, Massachusetts; Harman, B.P.; Heyenga, S.; Taylor, B.M., and Fletcher, C.S. 2015. 2)
City of Boston. Climate Ready Boston Repor t, 2016. 3) Global lessons for adapting coastal communities to
protect against storm surge inundation. Journal of Coastal Research, 31(4), 790-801. Coconut Creek (Florida),
ISSN 0749-0208; 4) IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Repor t. Contribution of Working Groups I,
II and III to the Fifth Assessment Repor t of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing
Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 151 pp.; 5) "What Is Open
Space/Green Space?" 2017. US EPA. https://www3.epa.gov/region1/eco/uep/openspace.html.