Last updated: October 2021
The Mary Ellen Welch Greenway (previously East Boston Greenway) is a mixed-use pathway and linear park built on a former rail corridor" linking several parks in the neighbourhood and also connecting the East Boston district to the beachfront (1, p23). In the 1950s after the Consolidated Rail Corporation stopped using the railways, it became a derelict dumping ground. To the initiation of a local community organisation with the collaboration of governmental authorities, the redevelopment of the area has started as a rail-to-trail conversion program. When completed, the Greenway will link several important open green spaces in the East Boston neighbourhood, increase the acres of park per resident in the area, provide a place for recreational activities and direct greenway to the Boston Harbor (1). Furthermore, with water management amenities the area would serve as a buffer zone in case of flooding by barricading the waterfront. (1)
Source: http://www.geocities.ws/eastbostongreenway/map.JPG
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Green corridors and green belts
Key challenges
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Conversion of former industrial areas
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Transformation of previously derelict areas
Project objectives
- Redevelopment and transformation of an abandoned railway line into a green corridor (1)
- Increasing the park per resident ratio in the East Boston district has significantly dropped as a result of the Logan International Airport construction. (1)
- Creation of a multi-use green area for local residents (1)
Implementation activities
- Building of a 5.3 km long pathway across East Boston (1)
- Creation of 4.8 km2 of park area (2)
- Creation of a deployable floodwall (1)
- Elevation of low-laying entrance and pathways of the Greenway that can block the waterfront (1)
- Community organised plantings and area clean-ups (1)
- Installation of informational signs in the green corridor about the use of the Greenway (1)
Main beneficiaries
- Non-government organisation/Civil Society
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Led by non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Non-government organisation/civil society
- Citizens or community group
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The Mary Ellen Welch Greenway is considered a bottom-up grassroots development. In the process of obtaining parts of abandoned railways from the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail), the nonprofit organization Boston Natural Areas Network and the Trust for Public Land, a national parks organization also worked with the involvement of the local community. (1) "Afterwards, the ownership of the corridor was transferred to the City of Boston and Massport, the Logan International Airport operating corporation. (...) [As of 2018], different sections of the East Boston Greenway are owned by Boston Public Works Department, Boston Parks Department, Massachusetts Port Authority, and Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. These public agencies are each responsible for the core maintenance of the sections they own" (1, p24). Friends of the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway, a local community organization stewards its use and serves as the stewardship body (3)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
€2,000,000 - €4,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- Public national budget
Type of funding
- Unknown
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of land
- Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
- Private sector (businesses, financial institution)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Green space and habitat
- Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development
- Increased green space area
- Restoration of derelict areas
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved liveability
- Improved access to urban green space
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No
References
"1) 1) Kim, E., 2018, NATURVATION - Case Study Working Paper: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
2) Boston Planning & Development Agency, (n.a.), East Boston Greenway, Boston Planning & Development Agency, Accessed on 2nd March, 2021, Source link
3) Friends of the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway, (n.a.), About, Friends of the May Ellen Welch Greenway, Accessed on 2nd March, 2021, Source link
4) On the Grid, (n.a.), East Boston Greenway, Accessed on 2nd March 2021, Source link
2) Boston Planning & Development Agency, (n.a.), East Boston Greenway, Boston Planning & Development Agency, Accessed on 2nd March, 2021, Source link
3) Friends of the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway, (n.a.), About, Friends of the May Ellen Welch Greenway, Accessed on 2nd March, 2021, Source link
4) On the Grid, (n.a.), East Boston Greenway, Accessed on 2nd March 2021, Source link
Source: https://www.asla.org/guide/site.aspx?id=41163