Marco Rubino via Shutterstock
November 4, 2021 (BOSTON, MA) – A group of community, environmental, and justice advocates are calling for Boston Mayor-Elect Michelle Wu to prioritize climate and justice concerns in her first 100 days in office. Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE), Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation, Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), GreenRoots, and allies outlined steps the new mayor can take to make significant progress on these issues in a letter sent this week.
“Longstanding racial inequity has plagued Boston for generations,” said Dwaign Tyndal, ACE Executive Director. “The election of Mayor Wu presents a historic opportunity to right many of these wrongs and prioritize communities that have been ignored for too long. We’re looking forward to working with the new mayor to get it done.”
“We look forward to working with Mayor-Elect Wu on issues at the intersection of climate, equity, race, and health,” said Gail Latimore, Executive Director of the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation. Now is the time to address the needs of communities long held back and to address historic and ongoing inequities in housing and responses to the current climate crisis in ways that benefit people of color and help level the playing field.”
The decisions Boston makes in the coming months in response to the critical issues currently facing the city will reverberate for the next 100 years. The groups are calling on Mayor-Elect Wu to commit to racial and economic justice, plan for a clean energy future, reconnect neighborhoods, overhaul city planning, and prepare for climate impacts.
“Boston has the opportunity to be a national leader in tackling these overlapping crises head-on,” said Caitlin Peale Sloan, Vice President of CLF Massachusetts. “Climate, justice, and transportation issues affect everyone in Boston, and we’ve historically seen little progress on these issues. It’s time for Mayor-Elect Wu to make these issues a priority and commit to real progress that will positively impact the entire city.”
“In the past 50 years, Boston has established itself as a ‘world-class city,’ and now is the time to lay the foundation of what kind of a city we will be for the rest of the 21st century,” said John Walkey, Director of Waterfront and Climate Justice Initiatives for GreenRoots. “The challenges presented by climate change and finally shaking off the legacy of racial inequities combined with deepening economic disparities present a formidable task for the new Mayor which must be met in partnership with the communities that have put her in office.”
Experts are available for further comment.
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