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High Waters, Higher Stakes: Why Cambridge Must Rethink Future Development

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High Waters, Higher Stakes: Why Cambridge Must Rethink Future Development Written in conjunction with the Cambridge Citizens Coalition The construction/relocation of infrastructure, buildings, and communities from areas that are vulnerable to flooding, erosion, and other environmental hazards is referred to as 'managed retreat.’ This concept has become a critical tool for climate change adaptation, particularly in regions facing rising sea levels and increasing storm intensity. By proactively withdrawing from high-risk areas, managed retreat aims to reduce damage, protect human lives, and minimize economic losses over the long term. It is often paired with policies to restore natural ecosystems, such as wetlands and floodplains, which can serve as buffers against flooding.  In Cambridge, managed retreat is an especially relevant strategy. As a city with a significant portion of its land located near sea level and adjacent to the Charles River, Alewife Brook (and numerous buried...
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The Housing Shortage – Are There Solutions?

By Phillip Sego and Suzanne Preston Blier Phillip Sego was an environmental advocate, lobbying for the Massachusetts Sierra Club from 1995 to 2015. In Cambridge, he has authored zoning petitions targeting the preservation of open space. Suzanne Preston Blier, a Harvard University professor, teaches a course on Cambridge history and civic issues, authoring an array of blogs with insights from the city databases. She has authored several articles on urban planning and the future of the city with a special focus on Africa and leads a citywide civic group, the Cambridge Citizens Coalition focused on neighborhoods, smart planning, and transparency. After reading articles and comments that appeared in local newspapers, we saw that there were misunderstandings about the causes and potential solutions to the complex issue of our housing shortage. Years of research as to what is causing housing shortages around the globe, what has worked to solve these shortages, and what has failed led u...
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