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.

Stop and Shop Plaza

Gloucester, MA

commercial district, drainage, maintenance, fill, heat stress, land use

The cluster of commercial shops at Stop and Shop Plaza in East Gloucester include a Stop & Shop grocery store, CVS pharmacy, dry cleaner, coffee shop and surf outfitter. The plaza is a central stop for Cape Ann residents to fill medical prescriptions and purchase groceries without needing to drive long distances to access retail or pharmacy services.

The plaza was constructed in 2004 on raised fill in historic marshland.¹ It is located on Route 127 (or Thatcher Road) and is surrounded on three sides by the Good Harbor Beach salt marsh ecosystem. This ecosystem protects upland areas, including the commercial plaza and surrounding residential homes. The marsh is degraded due to disturbed water flow and other interconnected human stressors, such as the erosion of Good Harbor Beach.² Moreover, the area’s steep topography will make marsh migration inland difficult.³

Google Maps, Gloucester, 2021, Stop and Shop Plaza, Source: www.maps.google.com

Thatcher Road is a critical route that connects East Gloucester and Rockport to West Gloucester. The low-lying areas of the road flood during storms, blocking an important emergency evacuation route off of Cape Ann. According, flooding along Thatcher Road presents a public safety risk affecting both Gloucester and Rockport residents.⁴

Gloucester residents have identified the Plaza as an area of concern, as a large portion of the impervious parking lot is located in FEMA Flood Zone AE and is vulnerable to flooding.⁵ In addition to the flood risk, the parking lot — which contains few trees — increases the urban heat island effect, or higher temperatures produced by urbanized areas, Gloucester.

The Plaza will continue to flood more frequently in the near future, and sea level rise will alter the estuary’s drainage patterns. During storms and nor’easters, the large amount of fill present in the Plaza will prevent water from draining into the Atlantic Ocean. This, in turn, will lead to more standing water, which provides a breeding ground for mosquitos.

During large storm events, the berm that the plaza is constructed on will erode, which may damage the marsh and its ability to perform ecosystem services. In addition, increasing summer temperatures will worsen the heat island effect for residents and employees.

United States Geological Survey. Massachusetts Gloucester Sheet. Map. Gloucester, MA. 1893. ↩
Metropolitan Area Planning Council. City of Gloucester Hazard Mitigation Plan 2020 Update. Gloucester, MA. April 3, 2020, 47. ↩
Kleinfelder. Coastal Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Plan City of Gloucester, MA. June 29, 2015, 17. ↩
Kleinfelder. Coastal Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Plan City of Gloucester, MA. June 29, 2015, 16,42. ↩
Municipal Area Planning Council and City of Gloucester. Gloucester Community Resilience Workshop Summary of Findings. Gloucester, MA. June 30, 2018, 14. ↩