Now and in the coming years, the City of Boston faces scorching hot summers and dangerous flooding from more intense storms. By 2070, Boston is expected to experience at least three feet of sea level rise and nearly twice the number of summer days above 90 degrees. Not only does Boston need to invest in physical infrastructure to protect its waterfront communities and cool its street, but it also must prepare its people and neighborhoods.
Neighborhood institutions like schools, places of worship, community centers, and libraries provide valuable services to people every day – especially for historically marginalized and underserved populations. In times of climate emergency, these institutions also can gather and shelter residents, serving as “climate resilience hubs” for the surrounding neighborhood. Resilience hubs work by aiding residents before, during, and after extreme weather events.
The City of Boston must start now to support and develop climate resilience hubs to ensure that our communities have the resources they need today and into the future. That’s why CLF, together with Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW), a network of local leaders building grassroots resilience by activating resilience hubs, has identified the especially vulnerable neighborhoods the City should prioritize for action.