Constraints for Greater Change

Lack of Economic Incentive Wildlife & Sensitive Habitat Presence

Chelsea taking ownership of their own identity within Metro Boston can produce a great shift in not only the identity but ownership of place. With mixed-use development, local businesses can thrive off of the increase of foot traffic. Then, with more people in the area, sales will increase due to the increase of customer exposure. Aside from its economical benefits, mixed-use development also creates a more inclusive and active community. Several different groups will be interacting throughout the day, leading to a more tight-knit community. Mixed-use development also has environmental benefits, as everything a person needs is within walking distance. This will lead to a decrease in car dependence, which will help with carbon emission and air quality.

Increased foot traffic ensures that there are people to visit your business, Is it public infrastructure or private development? How can a street become a place instead of something to travel to? Questions such as these begin to help us frame better stakeholder engagement by narrowing what bodies within which sectors can produce the most funding.

The past and present ecologies and habitats within a space and vital to consider when rehabilitating a space that has been functioning as an industrial zone for decades. Therefore, considering all ecologies, even the smallest of insects, will help reshape the land back to what it historically once might have been.

Chelsea Creek’s ecology is specific to the Massachusetts bay, and needs to be delicately examination in order to reintroduce these species back into the area. These ecologies have no ability to be reintroduced into their current environment due to industries putting out waste into the harbor that seeps into the mud and plants. Many zones within the Chelsea DPA are toxic and hazardous zones that should be treated and lifted from their brown field states.

Inadequate Storm-water and Runoff Drainage

In the fight against climate mitigation, the city of Chelsea faces both detrimental coastal flooding and storm surge flooding due to it’s geographical location. The city is challenged by storm surges during every heavy rain period due to the heavy ratio of impervious surfaces and the inadequate storm water drainage systems. Chelsea currently utilizes sewer systems are designed to both collect Grey water and waste water into the same drainage pipes. Chelsea’s are deigned with overflow structures that release excess amounts of water flows into the nearest entrance to the coastline in order to prevent water backing up onto the streets. Untreated wastewater that combined with Greywater systems contaminate the water source and pollutes the body of water it enters. This is detrimental not only for ecological health, but as well for the health and welfare of the community. When large rain storms or coastal events flood water inland, all the pollutants that were thought to have been absorbed by the ground or brought to the harbor are rushed back inland, which greatly effects the health of those impacted.

Lack of Exogenous Transit

Barriers within the built environment prevent pedestrians from traveling leisurely is due to the historic framework for the three Chelsea’s: the commercial, the industrial, and the residential. These different zoning types are not only disconnected but are severed from the downtown area. Chelsea would profit both socially and economically from a framework that responds to a multi-modal system.

Ambiguous Regulations for Flood and Emissions

Due to the over-priority industrial zoning as within land use records, the definitions that circle climate regulations for both heat and flood occurrences are ambiguous for the benefit of private land and business Owners. Chelsea inquires an adaptation in regulatory definitions that encourage land owners, both public and private, to invest in the stewardship of their land, and not the demolition of their land.

The projected future for Chelsea’s coastlines become more understandable when analyzing how the tidelands and harbor once looked in the past. Through studying the past and the present, we can make more knowledgeable speculations for future predictions. An ability to capture more percise predictions is critical because city planners can better prioritize strategies of mitigation and adaptation for a more resilient Chelsea.