West Roxbury Open Spaces and Urban Wilds

Having been a life-long resident of West Roxbury, one of the area’s amenities that I’ve always had a deep appreciation for is the amount of open space available to its’ residents.  I’ve recently learned that West Roxbury, with 1,146 acres of total open space (both protected and unprotected), has more more open space than any other neighborhood of Boston.  How much more?  Lots!  By the numbers, West Roxbury has nearly 23 acres of open space per thousand residents while the city-wide average is 7.5 acres per thousand.  And considering the family orientation of this community, having as much open space available for recreational activities is a real asset.

So, where exactly is all this open space and how is it used?

The neighborhood itself is largely defined by the open spaces surrounding it. To the east are the MDC’s Stony Brook Reservation, Bellevue Hill, and West Roxbury Parkway. To the west are Millennium Park, a municipally owned urban wild at the West Roxbury High chool/Community Center, the MDC’s Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Parkway, Brook Farm, Havey Beach, and large private cemeteries.  To the south are two more cemeteries and the West Roxbury Quarry urban wild. To the north is the Allandale Woods urban wild.

Of Play Lots and Fields

Another of West Roxbury’s open space attributes is the plethora of playing fields (e.g. baseball, soccer, football, etc) and play lots for younger children.  Playing fields include: Praught, Draper, Billings and Hynes field as well as the many fields at Millennium Park all of which accomodate your typical array of outdoor American-style sporting activities.  Additionally, the West Roxbury landscape is dotted with numerous playgrounds located at both public schools and parks, including: The Beethoven and Ohrenberger schools, and all the parks listed above.

For Adults and Nature Enthusiasts

West Roxbury has considerable resources available for walking/hiking, nature appreciation activities, and scenic enhancement. Substantial acreage is in a natural state: 680.05 protected and unprotected acres in West Roxbury. (Included in this acreage is the 8.9 acres of the Millennium Park riverside natural area, formerly the Municipal Shoreline urban wild, and the approximately 60 acres of the Millennium Park Meadow natural area along the slopes of this park.) Most of this acreage is protected. The largest unprotected parcels are the Roxbury Latin School natural area and the West Roxbury Quarry. Both have some acreage under the jurisdiction of the Wetlands Protection Act.

Over the coming weeks I intend to explore these open spaces and urban wilds in more detail.  Since I don’t get out much, this will be a welcome change of scene