Sunlight is an essential ingredient for the health of our parks and the wellness of the people who experience them – necessary for sustaining and growing vegetation and providing for our physical, mental, and social well-being. Shade from trees and shadows from buildings can cool the city and provide respite from the heat of the summer. Yet, in the winter, shadows from buildings make Boston’s cold climate feel even chillier and exacerbate icy sidewalks.
The neighborhoods that surround the Back Bay Fens and the Riverway are rapidly changing. New development is a part of a healthy and growing city, and the City of Boston is prepared to ensure that future development minimizes adverse impacts to its parks and neighbors.
The Boston Shadow Impacts Study uses an evidence-based understanding of sunlight and shadow effects on park lands to define needs for sun or shade in the Back Bay Fens and Riverway. This study aims to equip the City with the tools necessary to balance the continued health of parks and open spaces with the impacts of new development.
The goals of this study are fourfold:
1. Identify how to define the needs of Boston’s parks (focused on the Back Bay Fens and Riverway) in relation to sunlight, shade, and shadows in a way that is defensible and grounded in scientific data.
2. Determine a best practice to measure and analyze shadow, including what specifically to request during development review.
3. Develop guidelines for sunlight access.
4. Inform a future policy and regulatory approach.
In collaboration with the Boston Parks and Recreation, Agency is leading the study with Reed Hilderbrand, Kim Chapman EcoLandscape, Buro Happold, and Neighbor Architects. Find updates and learn more about the study at the city’s website, here.
Project Images
