City of Boston Awarded Grant to Advance Coastal Resilience and Prepare for the Impacts of Climate Change

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BOSTON ~ The City of Boston and the City of Revere have been awarded a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant of $330,500 to advance the design of coastal resilience strategies extending along Bennington Street in East Boston and Frederick's Park in Revere. This is the first grant through Climate Ready Boston involving a project that spans two municipalities.

The year-long project will develop schematic designs for an identified priority action area at Bennington Street, Frederick's Park, and Belle Isle Marsh, located at the intersection of East Boston and Revere where flooding occurs today and will increase in the future. The project will use nature-based and hybrid solutions to reduce near- and long-term flood risk to surrounding residences and the MBTA Blue Line; improve public safety, multi-modal transportation, and recreational open space; and enhance the habitat value of Belle Isle Marsh.

Mayor Michelle Wu expressed her gratitude for the Healey-Driscoll administration's support in Boston's commitment to climate resiliency and justice. "The effects of coastal flooding and climate change often hinder our residents from reaping the benefits of living in a coastal city," said Wu. "Partnership and collaboration across municipal boundaries only strengthens environmental equity across communities, and I'm excited to see how Boston and Revere will utilize our MVP grant to advance our Green New Deal through climate preparedness."

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Catherine McCandless, Climate Resilience Project Manager with the City of Boston's Climate Ready Boston initiative said she was thrilled to partner with Revere on their first coastal resilience design project that physically extends across municipal boundaries. "Flooding does not adhere to the jurisdictional lines we draw on maps," said McCandless. "This funding will help us take the next step to protect communities in both East Boston and Revere from the impact of coastal flooding while enhancing regional open space for people and wildlife."

The MVP Program awarded a total of $31.5 million in grants to plan and implement climate change resilience projects across 28 individual municipalities, one regional group, one Tribe that received funding from Massachusetts' Executive Office of Energy & Environment Affairs. Rebecca Tepper, Energy & Environmental Affairs Secretary said this program is an important piece of their strategy for positioning Massachusetts as a global leader in climate change mitigation & adaptation.

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In addition to funding awarded to Boston & Revere, Town of Winthrop also received an MVP grant award for advancing design on a coastal resilience project at Morton Street & Belle Isle Marsh Marine Ecology Park. Councilor Coletta thanked both Healey-Driscoll & Wu Administrations for prioritizing district-scale nature based coastal resilience solutions that will protect residents of East Boston saying "This project is critical in addressing near-term flood risks that pose a threat to this community & operations of both Bennington Street & Blue line."

Climate Ready Boston has completed plans for 47 miles coastline including neighborhood level studies in East Boston, Charlestown Downtown/North End Dorchester & South Boston as well as releasing 2022 Heat Plan outlining 28 strategies addressing effects heat on environmental justice neighborhoods. This work builds on Mayor Wu's Green New Deal which seeks to protect communities from effects climate change while enhancing regional open space for people & wildlife alike.

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