Community action/Massachusetts

| Map | |
|---|---|
| Location | Massachusetts |
| Coordinates | 42° 22' 43.96" N, 72° 1' 56.52" W |
The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for climate, environment and many other sustainability topics across Massachusetts.
News
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How flood-ravaged Boston took on the climate deniers – and won, theguardian.com (Jul 24, 2025)
How an Unlikely Coalition of Climate Activists and a Gas Utility Are Weaning a Boston Suburb Off Fossil Fuels, insideclimatenews.org (Dec 21, 2024)
Massachusetts farmers turn cranberry bogs back to wetlands in $6m initiative, theguardian.com (Nov 28, 2024)
New England Lawmakers Weigh Plug-in Solar as Europe’s Model Spreads, insideclimatenews.org (Feb 18, 2026) — Legislation in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island would allow small solar panels to plug directly into home outlets, expanding access to clean energy.
Where the wild things thrive: Finding and protecting nature’s climate change safe havens, theconversation.com (Dec 17, 2025)
New England warming faster than most places on Earth, study finds, theguardian.com (Dec 04, 2025)
Eva v Goliath: the 20-year-old climate activist taking on Trump and the fossil fuel industry, theguardian.com (May 20, 2026)
Meet the Americans who choose to live without a car in the US: ‘It takes some doing’, theguardian.com (May 08, 2026)
Inside a Kentucky City’s Unusual Experiment in Citizen-Led Governance, nextcity.org (Apr 08, 2026)
Eva v Goliath: the 20-year-old climate activist taking on Trump and the fossil fuel industry, theguardian.com (May 20, 2026)
US has caused $10tn worth of climate damage since 1990, research finds, theguardian.com (Mar 25, 2026)
New York Cooks Up a Plan to Boost Energy Efficiency in Public Housing, insideclimatenews.org (Mar 16, 2026)
Amsterdam, along with other major European cities, bans public adverts for meat and fossil fuels [BBC], Daily Alternative (May 22, 2026)
Solidarity fields in Syria: Reviving local seed production, globalvoices.org (May 21, 2026) — A community garden on Damascus's edge is quietly rebuilding Syria's agricultural memory
How reindeer herds, nature and Sámi culture can thrive when forests are restored across northern Europe, theconversation.com (May 15, 2026)
Networks and sustainability initiatives
[edit | edit source]- Environment Massachusetts, statewide, citizen-supported environmental advocacy organization, working towards a cleaner, greener, healthier future.
- Sustainable South Shore
Each week 3 different short videos from across the world.
Community networks, Community action/Philippines, Arts, sport and culture / ...This week's featured UK videos / ... read more about Cosmolocalism
International events
[edit | edit source]Global or International events
Jun 03, 2026 (Wed) — World Bicycle Day, The bicycle is a "symbol of sustainable transport and conveys a positive message to foster sustainable consumption and production, and has a positive impact on climate." (United Nations), June 3 each year, un.org
Jun 05, 2026 (Fri) — World Environment Day, June 5, annually, worldenvironmentday.global
Jun 08, 2026 (Mon) — World Oceans Day, June 8 each year, worldoceanday.org
Jun 12, 2026 (Fri) — World Day Against Child Labour, every year on June 12, ilo.org
Jun 17, 2026 (Wed) — World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, each June 17, un.org
Jun 21 and all of June — World Localization Day, worldlocalizationday.org
Jun 22, 2026 (Mon) — World Rainforest Day, June 22 is World Rainforest Day, worldrainforestday.org
2021-2030, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, International community action events
Massachusetts video
[edit | edit source]Community involvement
[edit | edit source]Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, nonprofit, community-run organization based in Roxbury, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1984 by residents of the Dudley Street Neighborhood, along with members of the Riley Foundation, as an effort to rebuild the poverty-stricken community surrounding Dudley Square. It is known as the first community-run grassroots organization to gain "the power of eminent domain" by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, meaning the community controls its own development and the use of the land. W
Via the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, residents worked with city and state officials to transfer ownership of 15 acres to a Community land trust (CLT), in which 1,300 parcels of land were placed. Now, those lots boast 225 new affordable homes, a 10,000-square-foot greenhouse, urban farm, playground, gardens, and other amenities one would only expect in more privileged, resource-rich neighborhoods...Shareable, Dec 10, 2019.
Community energy
[edit | edit source]The U.S. state of Massachusetts has vast wind energy resources offshore, as well as significant resources onshore. The 2016 update to the states's Clean Energy and Climate Plan had a goal of reducing 1990 baseline greenhouse gas emissions levels by 25% by 2020. Current goals include installing 3,500 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind power in the state by 2035. However, as of Q4 2021 the state had only 120 MW of wind powered electricity generating capacity, responsible for generating 0.9% of in-state electricity production. The state has awarded contracts to two offshore projects, the 800 MW Vineyard Wind project and 804 MW Mayflower Wind project. Construction began on the Vineyard Wind 1 project on November 18, 2021, after a long fight for approval.Commonwealth Wind was selected for development in 2021, but the developer has attempted to cancel the project due to increased costs. There are eight projects planned for off the southern coast of Massachusetts, though some will deliver power to Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York.
- Sippican Community Solar Garden, link checked 13:58, 7 June 2025 (UTC)
- Wikipedia: Solar power in Massachusetts
Cohousing
[edit | edit source]- Rocky Hill Cohousing, inter-generational collaborative community situated in Northampton in the lower Connecticut River Valley.
see also: Cohousing
Towards sustainable economies
[edit | edit source]Wellspring Cooperative, "creating an engine for new, community-based, worker-owned companies in inner-city Springfield, based on the purchasing power of area anchor institutions."
Sharing
[edit | edit source]Reading Public Library's Library of Things
Climate action
[edit | edit source]Climate change in Massachusetts affects both urban and rural environments, including forestry, fisheries, agriculture, and coastal development. The Northeast is projected to warm faster than global average temperatures; by 2035, the Northeast is "projected to be more than 3.6°F (2°C) warmer on average than during the preindustrial era."
Sustainable transport activism
[edit | edit source]Wikipedia: Hiking trails in Massachusetts (category)
Cycling activism
[edit | edit source]U.S. Bicycle Route 7 (USBR 7) is a north–south U.S. Bicycle Route that follows the Western New England Greenway in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont in the United States.
Education for sustainability
[edit | edit source]wikipedia:List of nature centers in Massachusetts
Biodiversity
[edit | edit source]Wikipedia: Massachusetts, Ecology
Environment quality
[edit | edit source]Mystic River Watershed association - wikipedia:Pollution on Cape Cod
Open spaces
[edit | edit source]Department of Conservation and Recreation (mass.gov) - Greater Worcester Land Trust - Kestrel Land Trust - Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust - Mystic River Reservation - Sudbury Valley Trustees
Citizens data initiative
[edit | edit source]Energy Profile for Massachusetts- Economic, environmental, and energy data
News archive
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Massachusetts Just Took a Big Step Away from Natural Gas. Which States Might Follow?, insideclimatenews.org (Dec 07, 2023)
More Massachusetts cities seek to ban gas, citing lack of diversity in pilot and urgency of climate crisis, energynews.us (Aug 03, 2023)
Food forests are bringing shade and sustenance to US cities, one parcel of land at a time, The Conversation (Apr 04, 2023)
- This Massachusetts Town Shows What a Sustainable Economy Looks Like, Jul 12, 2017...@Shareable
- Church solar project inspires solar for neighborhood, May 2, 2017...treehugger.com
- Teenagers force Massachusetts to act on greenhouse gases via lawsuit, May 19, 2016...arstechnica.com
- Massachusetts to open area the size of Rhode Island to offshore wind power, June 18, 2014...TreeHugger
- A Worker Cooperative That Proves Alternative Economic Systems Aren't Only For The Privileged, Apr 14, 2014...fastcompany.com
About Massachusetts
[edit | edit source]Campaigns
Massachusetts ( MASS-ə-CHOO-sits, -zits; Massachusett: Muhsachuweesut [məhswatʃəwiːsət]), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode Island to its south, New Hampshire and Vermont to its north, and New York to its west. Massachusetts is the seventh-smallest state by land area. With an estimated population of over 7.1 million, it is the most populous state in New England (with nearly half of all New Englanders residing in Massachusetts), the 16th-most-populous in the United States, and the third-most densely populated U.S. state after New Jersey and Rhode Island.
Massachusetts was a site of early English colonization. The Plymouth Colony was founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims of Mayflower. In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, taking its name from the Indigenous Massachusett people, also established settlements in Boston and Salem. In 1692, the town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of America's most infamous cases of mass hysteria, the Salem witch trials. The American Revolution originated in Massachusetts, with Boston becoming known as the "Cradle of Liberty" for its political agitation. In 1786, Shays' Rebellion, a populist revolt, influenced the United States Constitutional Convention. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing, and trade, Massachusetts transformed into a manufacturing hub during the Industrial Revolution. Before the American Civil War, the state was a center for the abolitionist, temperance, and transcendentalist movements. During the 20th century, the state's economy shifted from manufacturing to services; in the 21st century, Massachusetts has become the global leader in biotechnology, and also excels in artificial intelligence, engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.
| Authors | Phil Green |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
| Cite as | Philralph (2014–2026). "Community action/Massachusetts". Appropedia. Retrieved June 4, 2026. |




