City of Cambridge

1. Cambridge Community Development Department
Clifford Cook
Planning Information Manager
ccook@cambridgema.gov
Expanding Sustainability between
Campus and Community:
Town Gown Reporting in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
April 24, 2013

2. About Cambridge
• 6.4 square miles of land area
• Resident population 105,162 as of 2010 Census
• Daytime population 172,600, including workers and students
• 10th densest city in the United States
• 13 neighborhoods, each with a distinct character
• Economic activity centered around five squares
• Kendall Square adjacent to MIT serves as the center of the
State’s biotechnology and innovation economy
• Four major colleges and universities
• 44,300 Students
• 20,600 Employees
• 584 Buildings
• 12% of land area

3. 375 Years of Coexistence
MIT – early 1920s

4. 1970s & 1980s: Institutional Growth & Conflict

5. The Town Gown Report
Charge was to “review all key
issues regarding the
relationship between the city
and the large institutions…”
and to "...forge the basis for
new and more productive
partnerships between the
City and its large institutions
for the future…”

6. Key to the Process: Annual Reporting

7. Rocky Start: Building Trust

8. Understanding the Strategic Plan is Key

9. Meeting City Goals

10. Example: University Park

11. Example: Memorial Drive at Western Avenue

12. Example: CGIS Buildings

13. Example: 90 Mt Auburn

14. Example: Harvard Square Placemaking

15. Town Gown vs. Master Plan

16. Resources
• 1991 Mayor's Report on University-Community Relationships
http://www.cambridgema.gov/~/media/Files/CDD/Planning/TownGown/towngown_report_1991.ashx
• Cambridge Town Gown Annual Reports
http://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/planud/institutionalplanning/recenttowngown.aspx
• Planning and Educational Institutions in Cambridge
http://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/planud/institutionalplanning.aspx
• Kendall Square Central Square Planning Study
http://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/Projects/Planning/K2C2.aspx