Watershed group gets Crimson greenBy Audi Guha Allston-Brighton Tab, Friday, June 3, 2005 An attractive watershed, where people and the Charles River can live in harmony, is the goal of Charles River Watershed Association that has received a $50,000 grant from the Boston Foundation. The funds will help develop an environmentally-sustainable development plan for Allston, Cambridge and Fenway/Kenmore - including Harvard University's North Allston campus. "We are excited about this project because ultimately it will help to improve the relationship between people, parks and the river," said Kate Bowditch, lead project manager at CRWA. The project will affect Harvard's new campus, which will be more than 300 acres of land, and bounded on three sides by the Charles River and its public parkland. The association will work to see the campus developed in ways that will bring significant environmental improvements and will develop and support a broad and inclusive process for evaluating upgrades. The organization is hoping to work with municipalities, community groups, government officials and developers to create an example of how urban design and development can enhance the community and the environment, focusing particularly on water and open space issues. "Our experience with development projects is that too often the processes of site review, design and impact analysis do not maximize the potential benefits of the development," said Bowditch. She pointed out that in typical developments, even when project review is coordinated and neighborhood input is sought, environmental issues are rarely addressed, which can lead to poor design and permit delays. She said the CRWA will seek to establish guidelines for environmentally sensitive urban development, by using our scientific, advocacy and coalition building experience to create a model process for environmentally sensitive urban development. "We are proud to be a recipient of the Boston Foundation grant and partner with this organization to shape future relationships between healthy rivers, vibrant parks, strong communities, and sensitive development, said Robert Zimmerman, executive director of CRWA. "CRWA has long led efforts to improve the urban environment ... the potential for change is enormous, and the impacts far-reaching." |