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Area IV - Neighborhood 4
Neighborhood Description
Area IV is a high-density residential neighborhood with around seven thousand residents, bounded by Hampshire Street to the north, the Boston & Albany Railroad to the east, Prospect Street to the west, and Massachusetts Ave. to the south . The major commercial center and transit center in Area IV lies in Central Square with the main commercial strip along the Massachusetts Avenue edge, while smaller commercial areas exist along Main Street, Prospect Street, and Hampshire Street. Most of Area IV is residential in character. However, the triangle in the southern part of the neighborhood bounded by Massachusetts Avenue, Main Street, and the Grand Junction Railroad (sometimes known as the Osborn Triangle) is a former industrial center now home to high-tech labs and offices, as well as facilities for the neighboring Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Link to Neighborhood Map (542 KB, PDF format)
- Link to Neighborhood Statistics
Area IV Neighborhood Study and Update
The original neighborhood study was conducted in 1992 and issued in 1995.This file is in PDF format and requires use of the free Adobe Acrobat viewer.
- Area IV Neighborhood Study Report (550 KB)
Between 2001 and 2002 the Community Development Department held four public meetings with neighborhood residents. At these forums Department staff reviewed changes that have occurred in the neighborhood since 1995, and residents offered recommendations to improve the way that the City addresses a variety of issues. In addition, the neighborhood planning staff reviewed the status of recommendations from the original neighborhood study.
In 2004 the Department published the Area IV Neighborhood Study Update: Summary, Recommendations, and Action Plan, which reviews the discussions at the four neighborhood meetings, describe recommendations proposed there, and updates the status of recommendations from the 1995 study. This file is in PDF format and requires use of the free Adobe Acrobat viewer.
- Area IV Study Update (1.0 MB)
Also of Interest to Neighborhood Residents
- Cambridge College and MIT Town Gown Reports. Annual.
- Central Square Action Plan. Completed 1987.
- Central Square Advisory Committee
- Central Square Map (623 KB)
- Draft Central Square Development Guidelines. Completed 1989.
- Eastern Cambridge Planning Study. Completed 2001.
- Harvard Street Park Expansion. See also DPW Project Overview and Construction Updates.
- Inman Square Map (251 KB)
- Lafayette Square and Massachusetts Avenue Project. See also DPW Project Overview and Construction Updates.
- Prospect Street Study
- Squirrel Brand Park. Completed 2004.
Neighborhood Organizations
The following list of neighborhood associations is solely offered as an aid the public. Please note that these organizations are independent of the City of Cambridge; any views and opinions they may express are strictly those of the neighborhood organization.
Go
To List of Neighborhood Organizations
Contact Neighborhood Planner
Neighborhood Planners: Jeff Roberts, jroberts@cambridgema.gov, 617/349-4639 and Elaine Thorne, ethorne@cambridgema.gov, 617/349-4648.
The Community Development Department TTY line is 617/349-4621.
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