Chapters
How we use our land directly impacts our local waterways and surrounding nature. Our environment, in turn, shapes how we live. This symbiotic relationship is essential to how the world works and is the basis of this chapter where we discuss land use, water and nature.
Boston is one of the most densely populated cities in the United States with a population of 672,626. As a coastal city, Boston also faces climate risks as ⅙ of its land was built on landfill and 30% is prone to coastal flooding over the next 30 years.
Visual representation of where workshop participants lived in Boston using stickers
Results from our online survey of the Boston Climate Designers community showing where people are based in the Greater Boston area
We must all do our part in helping Boston achieve it’s carbon neutrality goal by 2050 and fulfill the 2030 Climate Action Plan. We have divided up the “elements of climate” below similar to Avatar the Last Airbender (plug to watch the new 2026 movie!)
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🌬️ AIR
Improving air quality, both indoor and outdoor, is a primary concern. Boston’s BERDO regulations address indoor air quality through regulating buildings in Boston such as converting from gas to electric stoves. Simple ways to improve outdoor air quality revolve around reducing emissions from gas powered vehicles and having more green spaces.
Learn more: https://www.boston.gov/departments/environment/berdo
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🔥 HEAT
Thankfully, we don’t have as many wildfire concerns as the LA chapter (see their Urban Farmer’s Almanac for more!) Instead, we do have urban heat islands which the city is hoping to mitigate by expanding its cooling infrastructure (trees, green roofs, shade shelters) to prepare residents for extreme heat emergencies. By working in tandem with our local communities, we can strive for long-term climate resilience.
One example is the Chinatown Heat Action Plan where residents and local institutions have come together to develop a roadmap to address extreme heat in Chinatown, which has one of the highest temperatures in Boston.
You can read more here: https://resilientcitiesnetwork.org/chinatown-community-heat-action-plan/
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🌊 WATER
As a coastal city, Boston has many waterways that we can all protect and enjoy together. From the Mystic River to our beloved Charles River, major water conservation goals involve preventing wetland loss and collecting rainwater. City bylaws help to manage stormwater runoff, and organizations such as Climate Ready Boston are working on solutions for rising sea levels and flooding especially in coastal areas.
You can help today by signing this petition to prevent combined sewer overflow (CSO) runoff!
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🌍 EARTH
Have you ever been told to touch grass? From micro-CSAs to consolidated farming and food shares, Boston has plenty of opportunities for urban farming! Some urban farms that we’d like to highlight are:
Organizations such as the Somerville Community Growing Center are also lovely ways to support your local green spaces. You can find a full list of Boston Community Gardens collected by the Trustees here and by the City of Boston here. See the map version below:
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https://thetrustees.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/trustees-boston-community-gardens-map.pdf
Want fresh produce but don’t have time to grow your own? You can also support local farmer’s markets that open up in early spring and run until winter arrives. Check out the local growing chart below for what’s in season.
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🍂 FALL
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🌬️ WINTER
In addition to farmer’s markets, you can explore different farmshares in the Boston area. For instance, Lost and Found Bread is a wonderful breadshare you can check out and Edible Boston is a great to more farmshares. To find more ways to reduce food waste, check out our chapter on “Waste.” For now, we’ve listed some resources related to “Land Use, Water and Nature” below. The map shows the resources filtered by location while the table lists all the resources by rows.