Healthy Communities Archives

Nov 13, 2025

How Housing Can Transform a Community

CLF’s Healthy Neighborhood Equity Fund is supporting climate-friendly, community-friendly housing.

A row of people stick shovels into the dirt for a groundbreaking

Nov 06, 2025

MA Costal Resilience Plan Marks Progress, but Stronger Development Safeguards Are Overdue

The state must pair this plan with common-sense, long-overdue standards to stop unsafe development and truly safeguard our coastal communities for the long term.

Oct 20, 2025

Five Things You Need to Know About Lead Poisoning

Lead poisoning remains a hidden danger in homes, pipes, and soil across New England. The good news? It’s 100% preventable. Learn the facts about lead exposure – and how we can protect families from this toxic threat once and for all.

Close-up of a gloved hand holding a blood vial labeled "Lead (Pb) - Test," surrounded by test tubes, a syringe, and a stethoscope on a medical report – illustrating how lead poisoning is diagnosed through blood testing.

Oct 14, 2025

Painting a Safer Tomorrow

Decades after lead paint was banned, thousands of New England homes still pose a hidden danger – especially to children. Learn about the ongoing risks of lead exposure, the policy gaps that allow it to persist, and what communities can do to ensure safe, healthy housing for all.

A row of aging New England triple-decker homes in Dorchester, Massachusetts, with peeling paint and weathered porches—representing the hidden threat of lead paint still present in many older housing units built before 1978, where families remain at risk of lead exposure due to insufficient testing and remediation.

Oct 02, 2025

Merrimack Station Powers Down Coal for Good

In a milestone moment for clean energy and public health, the last remaining coal-fired power plant in New England is being deactivated.

An angled, overhead view of the Merrimack coal station.

Sep 30, 2025

Cleaning Up Lake Champlain

Toxic litter is fouling our waters. Lakekeeper Julie Silverman is fighting to clean up and protect Lake Champlain.

Julie Silverman, wearing waders, gloves, and a CLF hat, collects debris from Lake Champlain

Sep 25, 2025

Climate-Friendly Housing, Built for the Commute

Two minutes. That’s all it takes to reach the MBTA commuter rail station from the new apartment complex at 191 Talbot Avenue in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood. And in many respects, that quick walk is life-changing.

Sep 24, 2025

Aruni Ranaweera

Aruni Ranaweera is CLF’s Community Resilience Policy Fellow, focusing on ensuring public priorities are reflected in how coastal resilience infrastructure is planned and designed. Before joining CLF, Aruni worked at Partnerships for Parks, the New York City Parks Department’s environmental justice community engagement program where she organized neighborhood coalitions around issues of health and community… Continue reading Aruni Ranaweera

Sep 18, 2025

The Berkshire Future Is Getting Hazier: Wildfires Driven by Climate Change are Clouding Idyllic Skies

Climate change is fueling wildfires, causing dangerous air pollution that worsens public health across New England.

A black and white dog jumps for a frisbee in a hazy Berkshire meadow

Sep 17, 2025

New Bedford Board of Health Rejects Trash Facility

Neighbors organized, educated, and supported one another every step of the way. No one should have to fight this hard just to be safe in their own neighborhood – but they did, and they won.