Transforming complex regulatory and geographic data into a public-facing digital product.

Key themes: Digital transformation, Product strategy, Public engagement, Accessibility

Role: Executive Sponsor and Project Lead
Organization: Boston Harbor Now

Project Overview

The Boston Harborwalk Webtool Modernization Project is a multi-year digital transformation initiative designed to reimagine how residents, visitors, policymakers, and waterfront stakeholders access, understand, and engage with Boston’s 43-mile Harborwalk and waterfront public realm.

Originally developed to make Chapter 91 public access requirements more transparent and accessible, the Harborwalk webtool has become an important resource for navigating one of Boston’s most significant public assets. Recognizing the growing need for more intuitive public access information, climate resilience education, and data-driven decision making, I led the strategic planning and redevelopment of the platform to transform it from a regulatory information resource into a dynamic public engagement and planning tool.

The project brings together municipal agencies, accessibility advocates, resilience experts, designers, technologists, and community stakeholders to create a next-generation platform that improves public access to the waterfront while supporting long-term stewardship of Boston Harbor.

Key Objectives

• Modernize the Harborwalk’s digital infrastructure and user experience
• Improve public awareness and utilization of Boston’s 43-mile Harborwalk network
• Integrate accessibility, mobility, and wayfinding information into a single public-facing platform
• Visualize climate resilience investments and waterfront adaptation projects
• Strengthen public understanding of waterfront access rights and public amenities
• Create a scalable framework for future technologies, including immersive and location-based experiences

Leadership & Strategy

As project lead, I developed the overall project vision, secured funding support, coordinated consultant teams, managed stakeholder engagement, and aligned the initiative with Boston Harbor Now’s broader strategic priorities around access, equity, and coastal resilience.

The work required balancing competing priorities among public agencies, regulatory frameworks, technical requirements, user needs, and organizational objectives while maintaining project momentum across multiple phases of planning and implementation.

Innovation & Impact

The redesign expands the Harborwalk from a mapping tool into a civic technology platform that helps people discover public spaces, understand climate risks, access waterfront amenities, and navigate the region’s evolving shoreline.

The project also establishes the foundation for future integration of emerging technologies, including augmented reality experiences, interactive storytelling, resilience visualization tools, and real-time public space information.

By connecting public access, climate resilience, and digital engagement in a single platform, the Harborwalk Webtool Modernization Project demonstrates how technology can strengthen civic infrastructure and help communities better understand, access, and steward shared public resources.

Pioneering the use of mobility data and geospatial analytics to understand who uses public spaces and who gets left behind.

Key Themes: Big data, Equity, Innovation, Research, Public policy, Fundraising

Role: Executive Lead 2022 – 2025
Organization: Boston Harbor Now

Led the development of a first-of-its-kind, data-driven equity model for public space planning, establishing a nationally relevant framework for measuring and improving access to parks and waterfronts.

WaVES was designed to answer a fundamental question: who is benefiting from public investments in parks and open space, and who is not. Historically, park agencies lacked the tools to measure visitation and demographic patterns at scale. I led a multi-year effort to build that capability from the ground up, combining advanced geospatial analytics with community-based validation to create a system that translates data into action.

The study integrated more than 170 billion anonymized mobility data points with on-the-ground surveys, interviews, and historical analysis to produce the first comprehensive view of visitation across Boston’s waterfront, including the Harborwalk, 28 waterfront parks, and the Boston Harbor Islands . This approach allowed us to move beyond assumptions and directly measure who is using public space and where gaps in access persist.

Findings revealed that while overall visitation is strong, Black, Latino, and other underrepresented communities remain disproportionately underrepresented relative to the region’s population. The work also identified key barriers to access, including transportation, cost, awareness, and historical patterns of exclusion.

To ensure credibility and real-world application, I structured a cross-sector research model that included a 20-member steering committee of public agencies and nonprofits, a technology partner, an independent data scientist, and an academic advisor . I also commissioned a third-party validation study through MassINC, which conducted more than 1,500 in-person surveys and observational counts to ground the data in lived experience .

Beyond research, I led the translation of findings into strategy. WaVES now informs Boston Harbor Now’s five-year strategic plan, shaping decisions on programming, transportation, and outreach. The model has influenced statewide efforts, with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation developing a similar analysis based on this approach.

WaVES has been presented at national conferences including NRPA, City Parks Alliance, and the American Planning Association, and is increasingly recognized as a replicable model for the field.

This work reframes park equity from a question of proximity to one of measurable participation. It provides a scalable template that allows agencies to identify gaps, target interventions, and track progress over time. As data and computing tools become more accessible, this model positions WaVES as both a template and an engine for advancing equitable access to public space across the country.