State of Massachusetts

The 495/MetroWest region is one of the most economically productive in the state of Massachusetts and is still growing. Between 1980 and 2006, the region experienced a 59 percent increase in employment; during the 1990s alone, the region experienced a 12.1 percent increase in the local population. Though this trend is immensely beneficial to the area’s economic health, it also places a great strain on existing infrastructure and water supplies. More than 40 acres of open land per day, or nearly 300 acres every week in Massachusetts are converted into residential, commercial, or industrial land, putting local resources and biodiversity at risk. As a public/private association dedicated to the sustainable economic and physical growth of the region, the 495/MetroWest Partnership provides local businesses and governments with an effective strategy to ease burdens on local resources and ensure their future vitality through the Green Infrastructure Toolkit.

 

Created in 2003 as a joint effort between businesses, municipalities and other stakeholders, the 495/MetroWest Partnership has come to be recognized as the true voice of a region critical to the Massachusetts economy. The Partnership was formed for the purpose of creating an environment that prepares for and cultivates sustainable growth; to do so it focuses on economic development, transportation, and water supply issues. Concentrating on the latter, the Partnership collaborated in 2008 with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council to produce a Water Reuse Report in which water shortages are projected for 50 communities in 2030 if current patterns of use continue. The report postulates that such a shortage can be avoided by municipalities through just a 20 percent reduction in water usage and protecting areas with significant natural resources from development.

For the Partnership, ‘stop growth’ is an overly simple answer to such challenges and potentially harmful to the local economy. Instead, their solution focuses on the right type of growth for their region—growth that recycles stormwater, preserves energy and protects habitats. To help guide local municipalities and businesses to this end, the Partnership commissioned the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning (LARP) to examine the concept of green infrastructure—facilities that use natural processes or technological innovation to reduce their impact on the surrounding environment. The Green Infrastructure Toolkit, released in February of 2009, was the result of this year-long investigation.

The electronic resource is available online through the 495/MetroWest Partnership’s website. By providing definitions, analysis and examples of how green infrastructure can and is being used in the region, the Toolkit helps users understand how such approaches could work in their community. Wetland buffers, bike lanes, green roofs, and solar panels along with nearly 25 other strategies are explored in detail. The analysis of each tool is not limited to a description of benefits but also includes links to outside resources and best practices, outlines the limitations, barriers and incentives to implementation, and reviews the economic benefits of each type of infrastructure. “Clearly laying out the economic benefits to green infrastructure within the toolkit was suggested by the faculty of LARP. It is a powerful and straightforward visual when communicating with the lay public about these issues. It lets people know why they should stand up and support certain measures at city council meetings and it’s those discussions that drive development in the state,” explains the Partnership’s Deputy Director for Sustainable Development Programs, Adam Ploetz.

The Green Infrastructure Toolkit comes to the 495/MetroWest region as the most recent tool in an impressive list of resources provided by the Partnership. In addition to many other reports, local stakeholders have benefited from the Low Impact Development Toolkit, the Brownfields Resource Guide, and SummerSmart Water Use, a guide to reducing peak demand on water systems. Through the 495/MetroWest Partnership’s continued dedication to sustainable growth, the region can look confidently ahead to flourishing resources and profits alike.