Jun 21, 2018

Conservation Law Foundation Continues Fight for Public Access to Boston Waterfront

“Both the public at large and the appeal of Boston’s waterfront come out ahead when waterfront plans include ample public spaces and impose reasonable limits to height and density, as current law requires,” said Bradley Campbell, president of Conservation Law Foundation. “In this plan, the city allowed the dictates of developers to trump the rules, and the state in turn blessed the city’s approach with tortured reasoning, justifications, and trade-offs that were never even part of the public process. CLF will ask the courts to declare this plan unlawful, and end the pattern and practice of shortchanging the public trust.”

May 24, 2018

Everett’s Gateway Center Fails the Public and Violates State Law

Nearly 20 years ago, DDR Gateway LLC (DDR) promised to provide greater public access to Everett’s waterfront in exchange for a State license to build its Gateway Center shopping complex. But two decades on, the waterfront park the developer promised hasn’t fully materialized. Now CLF is asking the State to hold DDR accountable for its failures.

May 15, 2018

Reclaiming the People’s Harbor

A wave of luxury development threatens to wall off the experience of Boston Harbor from the people who paid to clean it up, just as the waterfront was once literally walled off behind the city’s Central Artery expressway. CLF Senior Counsel Peter Shelley remembers the original campaign to clean up the Boston Harbor, and continues to work on current issues of equity and fairness.

Boston Harbor
Apr 18, 2018

Conservation Matters Spring 2018: Year in Review

In this special issue of Conservation Matters, we want to take you behind the scenes of our work, to give you a glimpse into how we break down challenges and take advantage of opportunities to create a healthy, thriving New England – not just for today, but for generations to come.

Feb 06, 2018

Building for the Climate of the Future

Barely a month ago, a historic storm blasted coastal New England – a “bomb cyclone” that brought blizzard conditions, heavy snow, and massive flooding to Boston’s Seaport neighborhood and other waterfront communities like Chelsea and Salem. As the storm raged, Twitter and Facebook feeds filled with a barrage of images showing icy waters flowing down… Continue reading Building for the Climate of the Future

Jan 08, 2018

Let’s Learn from the Seaport’s Mistakes, Not Repeat Them

Boston’s newest neighborhood, the Seaport District, has drawn recent criticism for its high-priced housing and amenities, exclusivity, and lack of diversity. What started out as an incredibly rare chance for Boston to redevelop nearly 1,000 acres of city land is now largely considered a major missed opportunity. Given the billions of dollars of public investment… Continue reading Let’s Learn from the Seaport’s Mistakes, Not Repeat Them

Boston's Seaport District – EcoPhotography
Feb 28, 2017

Boston Harbor 2.0

The New Frontier in the Fight to Save Boston Harbor When CLF launched its 1983 lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for dumping toxic sludge and untreated wastewater into Boston Harbor, years of neglect by the federal government, the state, the city, and polluters had turned the harbor into a shameful liability. But over time,… Continue reading Boston Harbor 2.0