Citizen
and non-profit advocacy for Urban Wilds preservation and restoration
Of the originally identified Urban Wilds,
two-thirds were privately owned. Due to high land
values in Boston, it has not been feasible for the city to simply
purchase these properties from their owners and groups have
formed at both the neighborhood and city level to advocate for
conservation. In 1977, the non-profit Boston Natural Areas Network
(originally the Boston Natural Areas Fund) was established
to take up advocacy for the protection of privately owned Urban
Wilds and this group provided a strong voice for Urban Wilds
preservation between 1977 and 1990. In the years following 1990,
BNAN broadened its focus to other urban green spaces, including
community gardens and greenways, and continued to function as
the watchdog group for encroachment into public and privately
owned Urban Wilds, but decreased its role in direct advocacy (personal interview, Vidya Tikku).
In neighborhoods with un-protected Urban Wilds, groups such
as the Alston Brighton CDC have taken on a strong advocacy role
to work for the protection the open spaces ‘that make
up most of what everyone thinks is public open space’ (quote from www.allstonbrightoncdc.org/open.htm).
Unlike the role in Urban Wilds conservation played by city agencies,
the advocacy groups have not followed the linear
problem solving model advocated in the Urban Wilds: A Natural
Areas Conservation Program report. As few resources exist
at the city level to advocate for the preservation of privately
owned wilds today, this citizen and non-profit advocacy will
be key to the future of unprotected Urban Wilds. A better understanding
of how this advocacy has functioned in the past may also provide
insight into the best strategies for advocacy in the future.
Please see  for a model of how non-profit and citizen led Urban Wilds advocacy has functioned
in the past.
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