Cape Ann
Compound Vulnerabilities

Cape Ann is already experiencing climate change. These 27 vignettes show how Cape Ann’s critical infrastructure, beloved cultural landscapes and historic downtowns are changing before the storm arrives.

27 Vulnerable Infrastructures

These 27 places across Cape Ann represent a range of critical infrastructures, open spaces, residential areas, economic drivers, and cultural institutions. They are not an exhaustive list of all the places that are vulnerable to climate change across Cape Ann. Instead, they provide a lens to understand the impacts on the beloved landscapes across the region.

27 Vulnerable Infrastructures

Addison Gilbert Hospital and Seacoast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Blackburn Industrial Park (Wind Turbines)

Eastern Point (Dog Bar Breakwater)

Essex Causeway (Woodman's Landing)

Essex County Club

Fernwood Lake Emergency Reservoir West Dam

Good Harbor Beach

Great Marsh (Cogswell’s Grant)

Gulf Oil on Beach Street

Jodrey State Fish Pier

MBTA Bascule Drawbridge 1

Northern Conomo Point

Old First Parish Burying Ground

Pigeon Cove Ledges

Riverdale Electrical Substation

Rockport’s Inner Harbor (Motif No. 1)

Route 127 Causeway at Goose Cove

Stop and Shop Plaza

“The Cut” Bridge at Blynman Canal

West Gloucester Wastewater Treatment Plant

The Wilderness Conservation Area

Changes During the Storm

Addison Gilbert Hospital and Seacoast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center ›

Cape Ann: Compound Vulnerabilities is led by Kira Clingen and Charles Waldheim with essential contributions by Celina Abba, Christopher Ball, Aziz Barbar, Fabiana Casale, Charlie Gaillard, Raveena John, Slide Kelly, Angela Moreno-Long, Nono Martínez Alonso, and Arty Vartanyan. The project is advised by Jill Desimini, Gareth Doherty, Rosetta Elkin, Andrew Fox, Jerold Kayden, Jesse Keenan, David Moreno Mateos, Rick Peiser, Chris Reed, Maggie Tsang, and Amy Whitesides. The project is informed by collaborations with the Harvard GSD Critical Landscapes Design Lab, the Woods Hole Group, NOAA, and Limnotech, and is made possible by the generous support of the Cape Ann Climate Coalition, the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and the City of Gloucester.

Cape Ann already faces ongoing challenges attributed to climate change that will dramatically shape its future. The region’s landscapes are valuable assets, yet they lack the capacity to withstand and recover from disturbances while maintaining essential function, also known as ecological resilience. Cape Ann’s landscapes have been degraded by harmful human interventions and escalating climate pressures beyond their ability to adapt and thrive. Deliberate actions are required to support ecosystems that accommodate human activity to ensure ecological resilience.

Regenerative Landscapes: Beyond Conservation to Adaptation investigates the current and potential future conditions of Cape Ann’s valuable landscapes. These landscapes comprise ecosystems and infrastructures, from saltmarshes and eelgrass beds to temperate forests and cultivated agricultural lands, among many others. They support the biodiversity, economic vitality, and unique character of Cape Ann.

Regenerative Landscapes proposes a series of initiatives that pursue ecological restoration and climate adaptation to achieve balance between ecosystem resilience and human activity. With meaningful action, the region’s ecosystems will effectively contribute to flood protection, carbon sequestration, increased biodiversity, reduced urban heat island, public health, and more. The historic identity and future potential for Cape Ann are embedded in and dependent on these Regenerative Landscapes.

The project is organized around four landscape ecologies: interconnected networks of ecosystems, habitats, and organisms within a specific area. Each landscape is composed of Cape Ann’s primary ecosystems: Beach Landscapes (Coastal and Marine Ecosystems), Marsh Landscapes (Estuary, Saltmarsh, and Tidal Flat Ecosystems), Forest Landscapes (Maritime Forest, Deciduous Forest, and Coniferous Forest Ecosystems), and Downtown Landscapes (Impervious Surfaces and Buildings). Additionally, the project explores three landscape infrastructures or physical and organizational networks that support human activities and impact a specific area.