Michelle Wu

Boston’s waterfront belongs to everyone, and we have more work to do for the harbor, waterways, and 47 miles of coastline to be clean and resilient, beautiful and welcoming, and connected to the economic and community needs they can uniquely serve.

Boston is especially vulnerable to climate change, and our administration will continue to use every possible tool to protect Boston residents, homes, and businesses from sea level rise and storm surge. Our administration created Boston’s first Office of Climate Resilience to provide a centralized leadership structure and elevate the urgency of climate action across City government. This team is acting urgently to advance projects outlined in Climate Ready Boston to mitigate flood risk and protect residents. Boston is an international engine of science and innovation, and Boston researchers and entrepreneurs are leading the fight to develop the new tools and technologies that will power our city’s sustainable future––from innovation led by Stone Living Lab and SeaAhead and New England Aquarium’s BlueSwell program.

But Boston’s waterfront is so much more than a climate issue—our city was built on 395 years and counting of history as a safe harbor fueled by maritime uses and our coastal ecosystem. Tapping into the recreation, transportation, and economic potential of our waterfront will help build thriving, connected communities anchored in good-paying jobs and treasured coastal connection for generations to come.

Boston’s waterfront is an essential component of our climate action plan, protecting residents from the significant health risks posed by extreme heat and flooding. Our coastal parks and community spaces create opportunities for residents to stay safe and cool through shade, seating, misting, and other water features. Every year of my first term, the City of Boston’s capital plan has advanced key infrastructure projects to enhance waterfront resilience, from the reconstruction of Ryan Playground in Charlestown to improve coastal resilience and opportunities for active recreation, to the redesign of a more resilient Tenean Beach in Dorchester, to efforts to protect the residents in East Boston through projects near Belle Isle Marsh, Border Street and Lewis Street.

Our plan for a safe, healthy summer in Boston also recognizes the role of Boston’s waterfront spaces. We’ve hit new records each summer for the number of young people in FutureBOS, our youth summer jobs program which guarantees a paid summer job to every BPS student who wants one, and for the number of BPS students in 5th Quarter programming. This summer, we launched the Boston Climate Youth Corps. This program aligns with the City’s broader vision to advance climate action, equitable workforce development, and youth empowerment, particularly for residents from communities historically underrepresented in environmental careers. The program’s five employer partners collectively employ 215 young Bostonians in hands-on green industry jobs that lead to quality, high-paying careers and address the negative impact of climate change—advancing public health by creating economic opportunity for Boston’s young people and building safe, connected communities.

We are one of the few major American cities with a comprehensive plan, developed with our residents, to address coastal flood risk citywide. We are now shifting our focus from planning to implementation. Later this summer, we will release a draft Climate Action Plan to lay out specific strategies to defend our communities against coastal flooding and protect our residents, homes and businesses from cross-hazard climate risks.

To help increase community preparedness, we hosted the Boston’s first-ever Deployables Day in 2024, and I'll continue to grow our emergency response infrastructure to make sure our residents can support themselves and the neighbors before, during, and after extreme flooding or other climate shocks. To lower near term flood risk, the City has invested more funding in its capital budget than any other point in its history to advance projects that have a coastal resilience component. And, to address long term coastal flood risk, we’ll complete a comprehensive study with the Army Corps of Engineers study to close long-term flood pathways. We’re also expanding our network of sensors collecting climate data to support real time monitoring, modeling, and project evaluation. To help further reduce the flood risk to renters and homeowners across our city, we’re deploying resources to retrofit coastal residential units. And we’re exploring updates to our Coastal Flood Resilience Overlay District zoning to ensure that large new construction and major redevelopments are designed with our long-term flood risk in mind, particularly in our most at-risk neighborhoods.

The loss of federal funding will be a major challenge over the next few years. I’m proud of the work we did to secure more than $174 million during the Biden Administration to jumpstart key climate resilience projects. And we’ll continue working closely with our hospitals and universities and philanthropic partners to ensure our climate action doesn’t slow down.

I am deeply committed to both supporting Boston’s traditional maritime industries and also training and cultivating a 21st century climate workforce. We must ensure that Boston’s waterfront employers, MBTA Silver Line and major roadways, critical energy infrastructure are ready for current and future climate risk. This also means continued investment in basic City services across our waterfront neighborhoods. Earlier this spring, I was thrilled to finally break ground on a new state-of-the-art ambulance station on the South Boston Waterfront, reflecting my administration’s commitment to supporting continued economic growth in one of Boston’s fastest-growing neighborhoods.

Looking forward, our Climate Action Plan lays out clear strategies to create new high-quality jobs protecting Boston’s coastal resilience and ensure Boston residents have the skills and training they need to find meaningful, stable employment in these emerging sectors. Through a $10 million NOAA grant, we will train at least 645 people and place 484 in more than 1,200 jobs committed by 13 employers in family-sustaining, coastal, and climate resilience occupations by 2028. For example, in partnership with BWSC, we’re creating new registered apprenticeship programs for Boston residents to be employed in the water utility sector.

Boston is the economic engine of New England, and the national leader in education, healthcare and biotechnology. To continue being the best home for innovators and working families, we need to invest in building the pipeline of highly skilled workers ready to fill the good paying jobs it’ll take to protect our communities from higher tides and stronger storms.

A fast, reliable, and affordable transit system is essential to open up public access to Boston’s waterfront and all of our neighborhoods’ treasures. I fought for Boston to have a seat at the table on MBTA’s Board, and we’re continuing to advocate for sustainable transportation funding through regional and state collaboration to make public transit more reliable, safer, more accessible, and fossil fuel-free. Our team works in close, daily coordination with the MBTA and other state officials to minimize impact on Boston residents during shutdowns.

My administration has prioritized safe streets, from speed humps and calming measures to pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure designed in partnership with community members. We’re implementing flexible curb management strategies to ease congestion and improve mobility, even as the use of ride-hailing, shared mobility services, e-commerce and on-demand delivery has only grown. And we’re expanding Project Greenlight, an innovative partnership with Google Research to improve traffic flow in highly congested areas, using artificial intelligence to model traffic patterns and adjust traffic signal timing.

Even beyond our efforts to strengthen Boston’s transportation system, I’m also committed to building opportunities for all of Boston’s young people to experience our coast and our harbor––no matter where they live. I launched the Boston Family Days program to open up access to Boston’s best institutions to all of our young people, and I’m thrilled that more than 18,000 young people and their guests have visited the New England Aquarium and the Institute of Contemporary Art since the program’s launch.