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21-464: Parque de la Ceiba (English: Ceiba Tree Park) is a passive park in sector Cuatro Calles of barrio San Antón , Ponce, Puerto Rico . Its centerpiece is the historic Ceiba pentandra , a tree associated with the founding of the city. Now surrounded by the park with the same name, the emblematic 500-year-old Ceiba tree stands on the edge of the Ponce Historic Zone . The park opened in 1984, under

42-762: A "public body politic and corporate," the BRA was established by the Massachusetts General Court and the Boston City Council in 1957, superseding the authority of the Boston Housing Authority . Its primary goal is to work with Boston businesses and developers in order to provide direction for development in the city of Boston. Its statutory authority was set forth in the Massachusetts General Laws chapter 121B, section 4 , and amended by

63-491: A given area since prior to its urbanization . Without formal protection, urban wilds are vulnerable to development. However, achieving formal protection of a large urban wild can be difficult. Land tenure of a single ecological area can be complex, with multiple public and private entities owning adjacent properties. Key strategies used in the preservation of urban wilds have included conservation restrictions that keep complex land tenure systems in place while protecting

84-522: Is about half a mile east of Plaza Las Delicias . The park sits on an area believed to have been the site of the first settlement of Europeans in the Ponce region. "In the surroundings of the legendary Ceiba de Ponce, broken pieces of indigenous pottery, shells, and stones were found to confirm the presence of Taino Indians long before the Spaniards that latter settled in the area." It has been said that this tree

105-501: Is also higher than that of the polypropylene material normally used in the cleanup of environmental oil spills . "The wood of the Ceiba tree is exceedingly lightweight and easily worked. However, because it lacks durability and is susceptible to insects and decay, it was mostly used for the construction of large canoes by the indigenous inhabitants of the region." Canoes made of Ceiba tree trunks were able to seat over 100 men. La Ceiba de Ponce

126-497: Is also known as 'kapok' and 'silk cotton' tree. The scientific name of the tree is Ceiba pentandra . The legendary tree belongs to the genus Ceiba , of the species pentandra , and the family Bombacaceae . The word Ceiba comes from a Taino word pronounced say-bah . Ceiba is one of the largest and tallest trees in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere . They have been known to reach heights of over 180 feet. The tree

147-423: Is closely related to the peculiar baobab trees of Africa. The Ceiba tree is also Puerto Rico's official national tree. The tree has recently been decaying and, on 30 December 2006, it lost a large limb that accounted for some 30 percent of its foliage at that time. The channeling of Rio Portugues and the development of a nearby recreational area have been mentioned as possible causes for the rapid deterioration of

168-624: Is depicted in Francisco Oller ’s first impressionist landscape masterpiece (1888) and on display at the Museo de Arte de Ponce . Passive park One of the most expansive efforts to protect and foster urban wilds is the aptly titled "Urban Wilds program" conducted in Boston, which had its start in 1977 off the back of a 1976 report by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), formerly

189-769: The Rose Kennedy Greenway , which was developed atop the Big Dig . The BRA owns real estate throughout the city and together with community participation through planning initiatives, issues Requests for Proposals as part of the land disposition process in order to achieve neighborhood-based community development goals. Another example of the BRA's work involves collaboration with the State Coastal Zone Management Department for waterfront planning and redevelopment of privately owned and MassPort-owned properties. An example of municipal harbor planning involves

210-524: The "East Boston Municipal Harbor Plan" where properties of varied ownership along the waterfront are currently being developed and Fort Point Channel development. The BRA has also undertaken improvements on Columbia Road in Dorchester , a narrow stretch of green space that Frederick Law Olmsted once envisioned as The Dorchesterway , the final link in the Emerald Necklace park system. Officially

231-494: The BPDA does not consider requests for zoning variances from individual property owners. These are heard by the city's own Zoning Board of Appeals, a seven-person body appointed by the Mayor of Boston . Some consider the BPDA's roles as both real estate owner and developer, and approval authority over private development projects, to be a conflict of interest . One of the first projects

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252-453: The BRA took on was the demolition of the West End of Boston , in an infamous urban renewal project that generated a considerable negative reaction locally and across the country. At the same time, nineteenth-century buildings around Scollay Square were demolished to make way for the new Government Center . Many consider the finished project (which includes Boston City Hall ) an eyesore, and

273-652: The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA). Urban wilds, particularly those of several acres or more, are often intact ecological systems that can provide essential ecosystem functions such as the filtering of urban run-off , the storing and slowing the flow of stormwater , amelioration of the warming effect of urban development , and generally benefiting local air quality . Typically, urban wilds are home to native vegetation and animal life as well as some introduced species . Urban wilds are vital to species of migratory birds that have nested in

294-469: The Session Laws of 1960, chapter 652, section 12. The agency's redevelopment authority includes the jurisdiction to buy and sell real estate , acquire real estate through eminent domain , and grant tax concessions to encourage commercial and residential development. On September 27, 2016, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh changed the name of the development agency from the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) to

315-457: The administration of Mayor Jose Dapena Thompson . A sign on the fence that surrounds the tree identifies its species as Ceiba pentandra . The park is located on Comercio street, next to Rio Portugues in the Cuatro Calles sector of barrio San Antón. Today the area is a mixed residential/commercial area on urban route PR-133 . The park is managed by the Ponce municipal government. The tree

336-492: The city in terms of enhancing ecosystem function. Boston Planning %26 Development Agency The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), formerly the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), is a Massachusetts public agency that serves as the municipal planning and development agency for Boston , working on both housing and commercial developments. As an agency concerned with urban planning ,

357-578: The entire landscape . Public/private partnerships have also been successful in protecting urban wilds. The urban wilds prioritized by municipalities tend to be partial wetlands that perform a range of ecological services while contributing to the biological diversity of the region. There is some discussion about whether natural areas that are not at an appropriate scale to perform significant ecosystem services should instead be categorized as passive parks as opposed to urban wilds. Smaller urban wilds are used for passive recreation and have less value to

378-718: The surrounding large brick plaza as an uncomfortable place to be. Another urban renewal project was the Prudential Tower development over the Boston and Albany Railroad right-of-way in Back Bay ; as part of this project, Mechanics Hall on Huntington Avenue was taken by the city using eminent domain and demolished in 1959. The BRA also collaborated with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy on various development projects such as

399-481: The tree in recent years. In June 2009, the environmentalist group ProOrnato Inc and the government of the municipality of Ponce joined efforts to preserve the old tree in a weekend-long event. On 18 July 2011, however, the tree lost another large limb. After this event, only 35 percent of the remaining tree was estimated to still be alive. The fruit of the Ceiba tree contains a fiber that is eight time lighter than cotton and five times more buoyant than cork. As such it

420-480: Was already a large tree at the time of the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the New World . Reference is also made to a book that suggests the tree already existed in 1696, and an 1818 map of Ponce by Alejandro Ordóñez shows the location of the tree. In 1916, the tree measured 118 feet in circumference, measured at 4 feet from the ground surface. The feature of the park is the historic centuries-old tree. The tree

441-406: Was used as the flotation for early life preservers. In addition to these attributes, the fiber fully repels water, has a low thermal conductivity and is resistant to rot. A little known fact is that before synthetics were used for insulation materials, mattresses and pillows, these were stuffed with the fiber of the Ceiba tree fruit. It was recently discovered that the absorption capacity of this fiber

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