New Books in Public Policy Courtney Humphries, "Climate Change and the Future of Boston" (Anthem Press, 2026)
Mar 16, 2026
Courtney Humphries, writer, environmental social scientist, and educator with a PhD in urban environmental issues. She explores Boston’s warming, sea level rise, and extreme precipitation. She links historic landmaking, redlining, and infrastructure to uneven climate risk. She discusses city planning, building regulations, and equity challenges around heat, housing, and resilience.
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Boston's Climate Has Already Shifted
- Boston is already warming: temperatures rose ~1°C since 1970, sea level ~8 inches, and precipitation increased ~3 inches, with extremes set to intensify under higher emissions.
- Humid heat over 90°F, high-tide flooding in parts of the city for half the year, and stronger storms combine to stress urban systems.
Reclaimed Land Drives Downtown Flood Risk
- Boston built thousands of acres of new land by filling coastal wetlands, placing major downtown and economic areas on low-lying reclaimed ground.
- That historical landmaking creates concentrated flood vulnerability in vital parts of the city under future sea level rise and storms.
Urban Heat Mirrors Historic Inequality
- Historical redlining and unequal development correlate with urban heat exposure, producing uneven heat risk across neighborhoods.
- Lower-income residents often lack air conditioning, raising equity concerns as hotter summers intensify.
