Updated October 24, 2008

For a more up-to-date version, Click here to download a PDF updated November 21, 2008

Metro Boston benefits from a diverse regional landscape that includes dense cities, suburban neighborhoods, town centers, and undeveloped farms, forests, and wetlands. The MetroFuture plan seeks to reinforce the best aspects of the region’s growth patterns by focusing growth in town centers and urban areas, while protecting undeveloped landscapes. Undeveloped areas provide innumerable benefits to the region: they provide wildlife habitat, aquifer recharge and watershed areas, agricultural land and fresh local produce, recreation opportunities, and recreational, scenic, and historic benefits.

The diversity of values and landscapes requires a similarly diverse approach to landscape protection. This strategy comprises three broad approaches to protecting natural landscapes: expansion of land conservation efforts (both public and private); increasing the economic viability of local farms so they can resist development pressure; and ensuring appropriate development and high quality design in more rural areas. It is important to note that this
strategy is interdependent with many others in this plan. Only if the region can successfully embrace compact suburban growth and increase the attractiveness of urban areas will the recommendations in this chapter be sufficient to prevent destruction of natural landscapes.

Statewide and regional plans identifying remaining open spaces and natural resources and their priority must be created and implemented. Protection of watersheds will be an important element in identifying these priority lands for protection and preservation. New and existing sources of funding are needed to fund the acquisition of these lands by the Commonwealth, municipalities and non-profit entities. Private-sector conservation actions will also be critical, and many recommendations will help conservation to be cost-competitive with other development options.

The economic viability of farming and agriculture in the region must be enhanced to ensure their continued presence in the years to come. A sustainable farming economy requires farmers, land, capital, labor, and access to markets. The MetroFuture  recommendations seek to ensure all these elements are present, so that the market can operate efficiently and with minimal dependence on subsidy.

The latter recommendations in this strategy are designed to encourage appropriate methods of development in rural areas. Appropriate development in rural areas will ensure that priority open spaces, natural resources, and farmland are not subject to development. Such methods of development include transfer of development rights programs, mandatory conservation subdivision by-laws, and other methods of zoning, such as down-zoning and purchase of development rights.