Related Guides
Environment
- Environmental Health Hazard Index (HUD Open Data Site) The environmental health hazard exposure index summarizes potential exposure to harmful toxins at a neighborhood level. Potential health hazards exposure is a linear combination of standardized EPA estimates of air quality carcinogenic (c), respiratory (r) and neurological (n) hazards with i indexing census tracts.
- Boston Community Energy Study (Boston Planning & Development Agency) The foundational data for this Study are simulated energy demand for every structure in Boston. These data had to be created via simulation, as customer-level energy use data cannot legally be shared for each property in the City. MIT Sustainable Design Lab created energy use data for each building including hourly demand data for lighting, plug loads, heating, cooling, and hot water. Some parcels were excluded due to missing property data.
- Data Portal (Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs) The EEA Data Portal is an open data hub for state environmental data. Search for environmental data on permits, facilities, inspections, enforcements, and specific environmental datasets.
- Methane and Ethane Observations for Boston, MA, 2012-2020 This dataset provides continuous atmospheric measurements of CH4 from two urban sites and three boundary sites in and around Boston, Massachusetts, USA from September 2012 - May 2020 (hourly average), measured with Picarro cavity ring down spectrometers.
- Climate TRACE Global greenhouse gas emissions inventory. Projects emissions from individual polluting sites (including Logan Airport). Maps and data.
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2005-2018 (Analyze Boston) This dataset represents the annual greenhouse gas emissions produced by the City of Boston from 2005 to 2018. The annual inventory is based on a combination of direct data and estimates for data that cannot be obtained directly. Data sources vary, and include City records, utility company reports, and information from state and federal agencies.
- MassCleanAir: Boston How does PM2.5 impact Massachusetts? Combining our own research, an extensive lit review, and a partnership with Harvard Medical School, we estimated the annual impact of PM2.5 on every town in Massachusetts.
- City of Boston Utility Data (Analyze Boston) Monthly utility data for all City of Boston accounts. This data comes from Boston’s Enterprise Energy Management System. This software tool serves as the system of record for all municipal utility expenditures and energy/water use.
- Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance: BERDO (Analyze Boston) Boston enacted the Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) in 2013, requiring large buildings to report their annual energy and water use to the City. Beginning in 2017 and continuing every year thereafter, the requirements apply to all non-residential buildings greater than 35,000 square feet, residential buildings that are 35,000 square feet or larger or have 35 or more units, and any parcel with multiple buildings that sum to 100,000 square feet or 100 units.
- Boston Buildings Inventory (Analyze Boston) This dataset pulls from many different data sources to identify individual building characteristics of all buildings in Boston. It also identifies high-potential retrofit options to reduce carbon emissions in multifamily buildings, using the best available data and assumptions from building experts.
- Widespread race and class disparities in surface urban heat extremes across the United States (Earth Engine Apps) Widespread race and class disparities in surface urban heat extremes across the United States. Elevated summer temperatures affect the health and wellbeing of urban populations. Here, we present extreme summer surface temperature anomalies (ΔT = urban temperatures - rural temperatures) and census tract level demographic information as used in our study (see link below) to quantify environmental injustice at the county-level in the contiguous US. Please be aware that the analysis in our
- Fire Factor, Boston, MA (Risk Factor) There are 19,444 properties in Boston that have some risk of being affected by wildfire over the next 30 years. This represents 19% of all properties in Boston. In addition to damaging properties, wildfire can also cut off access to utilities, emergency services, impact evacuation routes, and may impact the overall economic well-being of an area. Overall, Boston has a minor risk of wildfire over the next 30 years. This is based on the level of risk the properties face rather than the proportion
- Wildfire Smoke Pollution (ACS Publications, Childs et al) daily wildfire-driven PM2.5 smoke concentration estimates for each county, Census tract, and 10-kilometer-grid tile in the contiguous US, for 2006–2020.
- Gas Leak Maps (Heet.org) Every year, Massachusetts gas distribution utilities are required to report the location of gas leaks and leaks that were repaired in their territories to the Department of Public Utilities. HEET uses the reports to create the maps and information below. Use these maps to zoom in on your home, school, or business to find local gas leaks. The maps are
- MassAir Online (MA Department of Environmental Protection) The monitor colors on the map tell you how relatively clean or polluted the air is based on the pollutants monitored at that location, and what this might mean for your health. The ranges are the corresponding Air Quality Index values.
- National Transportation Noise Map (U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics) The National Transportation Noise Map allows users to track trends in transportation-related noise by mode (aviation, road, rail) and overall.
- Three Rivers Report Card: Water Quality Grades for the Charles, Mystic and Neponset Rivers Each year, Charles River, Mystic River, and Neponset River Watershed Associations bring together hundreds of dedicated community science volunteers to collect vital data, which is then reported to EPA, and announced as annual Water Quality Report Card Grades to help the public better understand the health of our rivers.
- Safe Drinking Water Information System (EPA) Information about safe drinking water is stored in SDWIS, the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System. Searching SDWIS will allow you to locate your drinking water supplier and view its violations and enforcement history for the last ten years.
- Rainfall Data (Analyze Boston) The Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) maintains collection sites throughout the city. Those collection sites are equipped with solar powered rain gauges on top of public buildings which log measurements of precipitation and which report data every five minutes. Here you find the link to the Boston Water and Sewer Commission’s interface to the rainfall data, which is updated continually. You can search for rainfall data going as far back as 1999, depending on the year of
Climate / Weather
- Heat Factor, Boston, MA (Risk Factor) Boston has major risk from heat. This is due to “feels like” temperatures increasing, and because 99% of homes in Boston have a Major Heat Factor™.
- Climate Data: Boston, MA (NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information) Climate Data Online (CDO) provides free access to NCDC's archive of global historical weather and climate data in addition to station history information.
- Climate Ready Boston Map Explorer (City of Boston) The Map Explorer features spatial data from Climate Ready Boston. Explore which areas in Boston are projected to be at risk of flooding (due to sea level rise and increased precipitation) and extreme heat (due to rising temperatures and the urban heat island effect).
- Climate Ready Boston Social Vulnerability (Analyze Boston) Social vulnerability is defined as the disproportionate susceptibility of some social groups to the impacts of hazards, including death, injury, loss, or disruption of livelihood. In this dataset from Climate Ready Boston, groups identified as being more vulnerable are older adults, children, people of color, people with limited English proficiency, people with low or no incomes, people with disabilities, and people with medical illnesses.
- Daily, County-Level Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature, Universal Thermal Climate Index, and Other Heat Metrics for the Contiguous United States, 2000-2020 This data set includes daily, population-weighted mean values of various heat metrics for every county in the contiguous United States from 2000-2020.
- Wicked Hot Mystic Case Study Data (Museum of Science) On August 12 and 13, 2021, over 80 volunteers joined the Museum of Science, Boston, and the Mystic River Watershed Association in measuring ground-level air temperature, humidity, and air particulate matter using special sensors.Includes East Boston and Charlestown.
Trees / Parks
- Park Score Boston (The Trust for Public Land) Our analysis is based on five characteristics of an effective park system: access, investment, acreage, amenities, and equity.
- Canopy Change Assessment, 2014-2019 (Analyze Boston) This data comes from the 2014-2019 Canopy Change Assessment report which outlines how much canopy has been gained or lost over a period of five years. There's a lot of information! Consider checking out the StoryMap where you'll get an overview of the project, what's available, and view a portion of the data in a map viewer.
Flooding / Sea Change
- Flood Factor, Boston, MA (Risk Factor) There are 15,602 properties in Boston that have greater than a 26% chance of being severely affected by flooding over the next 30 years. This represents 25% of all properties in Boston.
- FEMA Flood Insurance Risk Rating With the implementation of Risk Rating 2.0, FEMA delivers rates that more accurately reflect flood risk and ensure the National Flood Insurance Program will be here for this generation and generations to come. Available for state, county and zip code.
- FEMA Flood Hazard Areas - Comparisons with 2009 and 2016 (Effective March 2016) FEMA Flood Hazard Areas - Comparisons with 2009 and Pending Approval 2016.This map is for planning purposes only and should not be used in determining whether a specific property is in or out of a flood hazard area.
- Affordable Housing at Risk of Flooding in 2050, Suffolk County (Climate Central) The combination of physical vulnerability of affordable housing, socioeconomic vulnerability, and more frequent coastal flooding due to sea level rise presents a triple threat to residents of America’s already scarce affordable housing.
- Relative Sea Level Trends (NOAA) Plots show monthly mean sea levels without the regular seasonal fluctuations from coastal ocean temperatures, salinity, wind, atmospheric pressure, and ocean currents. The relative sea level trend is also shown with its 95% confidence interval. Relative Sea Level trends at the coast can be positive or negative. A negative trend does not mean the ocean surface is falling; It indicates the land is rising more quickly than the ocean in a particular area. Trends close to zero indicate the land is
- Sea Level Rise Viewer (NOAA) View sea level rise and potential coastal flooding impact areas and relative depth. The Digital Coast Sea Level Rise Viewer tool is a web mapping tool that can be used to visualize community-level impacts from coastal flooding and sea level rise. Available Data 2022 Regional Mean Sea Level: 2005-2100 2017 Regional Mean Sea Level: 2000-2100
- 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report Data Files (NOAA) These CSV files provide a way to directly download three datasets from the 2022 technical report. Available Data (Download Datasets Below) 2022 Scenarios of Future Mean Sea Level 2022 Extreme Water Levels (Tide Gauges) 2022 Extreme Water Levels (1-Degree Grids)
- NASA Interagency Sea Level Rise Scenario Tool The Interagency Sea Level Rise Scenario tool provides the sea level scenarios at individual tide gauge locations across the U.S. and territories as well as on a 1-degree grid. It also gives regionally averaged scenarios for different coastal regions around the U.S. In addition, it provides observation-based extrapolations out to 2050 at global, regional and local levels. Users can visualize sea level scenarios and the contributors to future sea level rise, and download the underlying data used in the tool and report.
- Surging Seas (Mapping Choices) Sea level rise for 02215 is linked here, for 4 C and 2 C warming.
- Sea Change: Boston (Sasaki) Sea Change: Boston is a Sasaki research initiative on sea level rise advocating for long-term coastal resiliency in the Greater Boston area.
- The State of High Tide Flooding and Annual Outlook (noaa.gov) NOAA documents changes in high-tide flooding patterns from the previous year at 97 NOAA tide gauges along the U.S. coast (including Boston), and provides a flooding outlook for these locations for the coming year, as well as projections for the next several decades.
- Hurricane Evacuation Zone Map (Mass.gov) If you live, work, or plan to vacation in one of Massachusetts’ coastal communities, or near a river or other waterway connected to the ocean, you should "Know Your Zone." Use the interactive map below or the evacuation zone maps for your community to learn whether your home or business is in a predesignated hurricane evacuation zone.
See also:
- Bivariate Noise Map, Greater Boston Area (Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center, BPL) This bivariate map attempts to visualize where noise pollution is most amplified by population density.
