Regional Studies in Marine Science 25 (2019) 100482 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Regional Studies in Marine Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rsma Boston Harbor, Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Transformation from `the harbor of shame' to a vibrant coastal resource ∗ J.L. Bowen , C.J. Baillie, J.H. Grabowski, A.R. Hughes, S.B. Scyphers, K.R. Gilbert, S.G. Gorney, J. Slevin, K.A. Geigley Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Marine Science Center, Northeastern University, 430 Nahant Road, Nahant, MA 01908, USA h i g h l i g h t s • Boston Harbor receives millions of visitors per year, in part to enjoy its revitalized waterfront. • Massive wastewater treatment infrastructure restored water quality in Boston Harbor. • Current threats to the city include sea level rise, invasive species, habitat destruction, and continuing water quality challenges. • Visits to the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park, which manages and protects harbor resources, has increased significantly since water quality in the Harbor improved. article info a b s t r a c t Article history: Boston Harbor, an urban harbor located in Massachusetts, USA, has a long history of use and environmen- Received 9 August 2018 tal degradation, followed by extensive restoration efforts. The coastal resources of the region sustained Received in revised form 28 November 2018 native tribes for thousands of years prior to European settlement, and those resources sustained early Accepted 12 December 2018 settlers, allowing them to expand throughout the region. By the late 1600s, the city of Boston was the most Available online 15 December 2018 influential shipping and trading city in the new colonies. Continuous growth of the region throughout Keywords: the 18th and 19th centuries, however, strained those resources. Extensive areas of coastal wetlands were Boston filled for urban development, resident wastewater was disposed of in the Harbor, and industrialization Eelgrass of the waterfront resulted in additional point source contamination. By the 1980s, Boston Harbor was Waste treatment considered among the most polluted harbors in the country. Extensive efforts in recent years, however, Urban harbors have restored the water quality in the Harbor and revitalized the waterfront region. Below we describe the Sea level rise socio-economic and ecological resources of the region, explore the current threats Boston Harbor faces, Restoration and highlight two examples of actions that helped restore the Harbor to its current conditions. ' 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V. Contents 1. Introduction......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 2. Historical setting ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2 2.1. The pre-revolutionary war period (1600–1775).................................................................................................................................................. 2 2.2. Boston in the 19th century .................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 2.3. Boston: 1900s to Present ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 3. Geophysical and ecological setting.................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 4. Social and economic setting............................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 5. Threats ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 5.1. Climate change and associated sea level rise ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 5.2. Invasive species ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 5.3. Water quality.......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 5.4. Habitat destruction ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 7 6. Case studies of restoration success.................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 6.1. Water quality improvement in boston harbor..................................................................................................................................................... 7 ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (J.L. Bowen). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2018.100482 2352-4855/' 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V. J.L. Bowen, C.J. Baillie, J.H. Grabowski et al. / Regional Studies in Marine Science 25 (2019) 100482 1 6.2. Seagrass restoration in boston harbor .................................................................................................................................................................. 8 7. Conclusions.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 References ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 the Shawmut Peninsula, where there was an abundance of fresh- 1. Introduction water. In September 1630 the settlement at Boston was formally established (Hubbard, 1848) on the Shawmut Peninsula (Fig. 1). Boston, the capital city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts The abundance of fresh drinking water supplied by local rivers in the United States, evolved from a city with among the most pol- and a wealth of seafood from clam and mussel beds along the rich luted harbors in the country, to one with a bustling waterfront full coastline provided sustenance to the colonists as they built their of high-end real estate and a tourist industry that boasts millions livelihoods around the sea, becoming shipbuilders, merchants, sea- of visitors a year (Harr, 2005). Today nearly 5 million residents men, and fishers (Hubbard, 1848; Morison, 1921). Under the lead- that live in the Boston metropolitan area have a revitalized Boston ership of Governor Winthrop, ship building in the new colony waterfront to enjoy due to massive infrastructure projects that facilitated the establishment of trading routes between Boston and relocated a major highway below ground and pumped the city's the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam (now New York City), wastewater several km off shore. There are nearly 70 km of walk- and Boston quickly became the most important trading hub in the ing paths that border the harbor, including access to nine public colonies (Hubbard, 1848). Prosperity from trade led to unprece- beaches. A series of parks with fountains, public art installations, dented growth, and over the following century, the population and a carousel replaced the central artery, a highway that bisected of the Massachusetts Bay Colony grew to approximately 13,000, the town and separated much of the waterfront from the rest of surpassing that of all other English colonies combined. Although the city. During the summer, ferries run from downtown Boston a full one third of the labor force of the colony was employed by to eight of the islands associated with the Boston Harbor Islands the shipping trade (Morison, 1921), its affluence permitted other National and State Park. Commuter ferries connect cities both laborers to finance and build iconic structures facilitating trade, north and south of Boston to the center of the city. As a result of this religious practice, and governance (e.g., Long Wharf (1710), the Old revitalization and the booming growth of the tech and biomedical State House (1713), Boston Light (1717), Old North Church (1723), sectors, the city is expected to grow at a rate surpassing 3% for and Faneuil Hall (1742)). the foreseeable future. Below we describe the historical setting The growing importance of Boston