Food Justice & Imagine Boston 2030
By Amanda Brancato
If you haven’t already, check out Imagine Boston 2030. By the year 2030, Boston will likely be home to 700,000 residents, a number the city has not seen in decades. Imagine Boston 2030 will be formally released this summer. The plan will help accommodate Boston’s growing population by creating 53,000 new housing units for a variety of income levels across the city.
For Boston’s neighborhoods to thrive, we must address the needs of a growing and changing population, while supporting the health and well-being of each resident. Equal access to nutrition is an ongoing issue in Boston today, so how will Imagine Boston 2030 help?
The plan hopes to create safer urban spaces by addressing a variety of social concerns. By 2030, Boston hopes to improve access to mental health services, substance abuse care, and healthy food. By focusing on neighborhoods with food deserts, the 2030 plan aims to help Boston residents access nutritious food without traveling far from home. Instead of building more fast-food chains around each corner, local grocery stores and farmer’s markets will be built so residents can make better, healthier choices.
Additionally, Imagine Boston 2030 will strive to enhance the city’s green spaces. By 2030, Boston hopes to finish the Emerald Necklace, strengthen Franklin Park and the Boston Commons, and build new spaces along the waterfront. Having more open space will pave the way for urban farming and local farmer’s markets, thus helping Boston neighborhoods find new ways to grow or access food.
Lastly, Imagine Boston 2030 hopes to establish more frequent and reliable transportation service in the Fairmount corridor. By collaborating with the State of Massachusetts, MBTA, and community organizations, the city will strengthen its connections between neighborhoods in and outside of the Greater Boston Area. Imagine Boston 2030 hopes to invest in rapid transit corridors and build multi-modal transit hubs, both of which will help residents move around the city for work and play. Better transportation will also help residents who live in food deserts gain access to healthy food.
Don’t want to wait until 2030 to see food justice spread across Boston? Consider signing up for a food-run with Student Food Rescue, an organization that strives to provide healthy food to all of Boston’s neighborhoods. There are still runs available for the rest of this semester!
