20 Embankment Rd, Boston, MA 02114

Open Space District

The purposes of this article are to encourage the preservation of open space for community gardens, parkland, recreation, stadium or public amphitheater, shoreland, urban wild, waterfront access area, cemetery, and urban plaza purposes; to enhance the quality of life of the city's residents by permanently protecting its open space resources; to distinguish different open space areas in order to provide for uses appropriate to each open space site on the basis of topography, water, flood plain, scenic value, forest cover, urban edge, or unusual geologic features; to prevent the loss of open space to commercial development; to restore Boston's conservation heritage of Olmsted parks; to coordinate state, regional, and local open space plans; to provide and encourage buffer zones between incompatible land uses and mitigate the effects of noise and air pollution; to promote and maintain the visual identity of separate and distinct districts; to enhance the appearance of neighborhoods through preservation of natural green spaces; and to ensure the provision of adequate natural light and air quality by protecting the supply of vegetation and open space throughout Boston.