In a report for The Guardian (July 24, 2025), science writer Steve Rose lauds the City of Boston for “becoming one of the most climate resilient in the world.” After citing the “wicked high tides” that have combined with fierce storms and high levels of precipitation to threaten the vulnerable coastal city, Rose points to the tangible preparedness planning that have been initiated under Mayor Michelle Wu’s Climate Ready Boston Team:
“Boston’s current climate resilience plan consists of more than 100 projects along the city’s 47-mile coastline between now and 2070. On the broad scale, the strategy is to identify critical points where seawater could flood in and effectively plug them up, but not at the expense of civic life. [City Councilor Gabriela Coletta] Zapata says: ‘The harbour itself is a treasure, and anybody, no matter who you are, where you come from, should have access to that waterfront.’ So rather than sea walls, the city is building elevated public parks and promenades, which bring added social benefits.
…Another aspect of Boston’s grand plan is to use nature-based defenses where possible, working with local groups such as the Stone Living Lab, a partnership between government agencies, research university UMass Boston, and non-profit bodies such as Boston Harbor Now. ‘We’re doing more what’s often called green infrastructure, instead of grey,’ says Joe Christo, co-director of Stone Living Lab.
…Rather than running away from the problem, Boston is running towards it, treating it with the urgency it demands. ‘We have to finish these projects sooner rather than later to solve a problem that is coming at us very quickly,’ says [Boston’s chief climate officer Brian] Swett. As everyone in Boston knows, the only real solution is to address the causes of climate change itself – global heating, increased CO2 levels, fossil fuel emissions. That is a conversation that still feels a long way off in the US, but like the sea itself, it is surely getting closer all the time.’”
Read the full article in The Guardian.