Harmony in Motion: A Mother-Daughter Journey Toward Healthy Aging Through Parks and Fitness
By Rachel Cotter, RLA, Weston & Sampson As we age, our physical needs and desires evolve, but one thing remains constant: the need for connection and community. My mother Shelly and I have witnessed firsthand how thoughtfully designed parks and recreation spaces can support healthy aging. My job as a landscape architect brings with it...Continue reading→
Pre-Treatment is Pro-Tection: Designing Green Stormwater Infrastructure for the Long Term
by Shane Mullen Introduction Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), like rain gardens, bioretention cells, and others, has been adopted by the private and public sectors to improve watershed health by infiltrating runoff. One key consideration for a long-lasting and effective GSI practice is pretreatment measures. Sediment accumulates quickly in treatment structures, so having an easily accessible...Continue reading→
Where the sidewalk ends: A call for safer streets
by Greg Guertin. Shel Silverstein’s beloved poem Where the Sidewalk Ends invites us to imagine stepping beyond the pavement into a safer, more welcoming world, a place where imagination thrives, and dangers fade away. Yet in Smithfield, R.I., like in many modern towns, sidewalks often lead us not to safety but directly into harm’s way.Continue reading→
Down With DBPs
New England town takes proactive approach to reducing disinfection byproducts in its drinking water By Ben Rollins, Tim Barber, and Steve Sullivan For its ability to produce safe drinking water and reduce the spread of waterborne disease, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has hailed disinfection as one of the greatest public health achievements of...Continue reading→
Testing the Waters: Insights from a Six-Month PFAS Pilot Study
By Allie Goldberg, PE and Sara Francis, PE. The Bridge Street Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in Dedham, Massachusetts, is one of two water treatment facilities that services customers within the Dedham-Westwood Water District (DWWD). Upon the discovery of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the wells serving the WTP, the DWWD contracted with an engineering consultant to complete a feasibility study, and subsequently, a pilot study at the WTP for PFAS removal.Continue reading→
Implementing green, gray, and watershed-wide stormwater solutions in the Broad Meadow Brook Watershed
The Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary (Figure 1) is the largest urban wildlife sanctuary in New England. The 435-acre natural area, in the southeast corner of Worcester, Massachusetts, is embedded in an urbanized landscape. The sanctuary is a partnership between the City of Worcester, National Grid, and the Massachusetts Audubon Society (Mass Audubon), which manages...Continue reading→
Dorchester County Greenbelt Master Plan
By Kim Morganello, Lucas Hernandez and Rachel Cotter, RLA. Dorchester County, South Carolina, is home to diverse ecosystems, including swamps, blackwater rivers, bottomland hardwood forests, longleaf pine savannahs and tidal marshes. Residents and visitors can partake in outdoor recreational activities across the county’s vast park system, trails, waterways and forests. The county, however, has undergone significant growth and development in recent years, and has embraced the challenge of managing rapid urban growth while also trying to mitigate environmental damage and degradation.Continue reading→
The Eversource Business Energy Advantage Program Helps Businesses Achieve Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Goals
By Rebecca Mauser-Hoye. Eversource’s Business Energy Advantage (BEA) Program is designed to provide cost-effective, turnkey services for medium-sized business customers to help them achieve energy efficiency targets, lower their carbon footprint, and improve building operations. The goal of the program is to help them make small investments that together can generate large benefits for their bottom line and for the environment.Continue reading→
Chicopee’s Willimansett Brownfields Area-Wide Plan: How Brownfields Can Become Catalysts for Neighborhood Reinvestment
By Cassie Bethoney. Like many mill towns in the region, the neighborhood of Willimansett in Chicopee, Massachusetts followed a pattern of urban development and had been one of the area’s most thriving industrial centers for over a century. During that time, the neighborhood was almost entirely built out with few land parcels left undeveloped. However, during the mid-20thcentury, businesses began closing, leaving these industrial facilities and structures empty and unused.Continue reading→
Equity-Driven Climate Action: Connecticut’s Path to a Resilient, Net-Zero Future
Figure 1: The impacts of climate change, like this severe inland flooding from extreme precipitation, are impacting communities across the country (Weston & Sampson).