As East Boston’s history of activism and community organizing has made clear, industry has been in direct opposition to environmental justice goals in the neighborhood. Industrial uses–without accountability mechanisms and public oversight–have contaminated land and water, limited public access to the waterfront, and created other conditions that currently exist as challenges in East Boston. Despite carrying the environmental and public health burden of industry, East Boston residents, the majority of whom identify as Hispanic or Latinx, do not gain access to wealth-building opportunities and long-term stability.
This toolkit suggests that, within the seemingly rigid and undesirable bounds of the Designated Port Areas (DPAs), there is room for creative, forward-looking, and community-led planning solutions.
