It's a solution to climate change which has the potential to make the historic district even more attractive, if it works. But there is a problem.
"If you compare Boston to Venice or Amsterdam, the difference is they have very small tidal ranges," says John Macomber.
"The tide change in Boston is about eight feet a day, so the canals would be either high part of the time or low part of the time. So we would have to decide whether they would be really deep or tidal," he says.
The canals would also have to contend with freezing temperatures in winter, but it seems that, unlike Amsterdam's, they may not be suitable for skating on.
"The question is whether in a climate where it can snow for six months of the year you want canals that are always open and partly full of slush, sand and salt," says Macomber.
A less ambitious solution to sea-level rise would be simply to shore up the foundations of Back Bay houses and make sure important infrastructure, such as electrical and mechanical equipment, was lifted up above the likely level of any flooding.
This kind of solution may have to be implemented in many of Boston's districts not just the Back Bay.
Last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) changed its 100-year flood zone map which indicates areas likely to be affected by extreme flooding to include many more properties in the city.
"We've looked at raising the ground floor elevation as much as possible," says architect Amy Korte, who is working on building design in Boston's up-and-coming Innovation District.
"We asked how do we raise critical equipment and create a new vision for what good urban design can be," she asks.
Another solution would be to re-introduce natural wetland habitats that would act as a sponge for excess water.
"It's a great non-technology natural solution," says Dennis Carlberg.
"As sea level rises, we are going to be losing this natural sponge globally, so trying to add some of it back is an important thing to be paying attention to."
Whether or not the Back Bay becomes the Venice of North America, at the very least this project has helped raised awareness of how much Boston is going to change over the next few decades.
And by including financial planners and business leaders in the brain-storming sessions, those trying to raise awareness of climate change hope to move the argument away from political controversy and on to practicalities.
"If you want property values to stabilise or remain where they are, at some point you need to invest," says Harvard's John Macomber.
"The idea is to find the sweet spot to invest in a sensible way."