Cambridge Neighborhood Planning
About Neighborhood Planning
Neighborhood-level planning is a key component of the ongoing work conducted by CDD's Community Planning Division. Neighborhood planning informs the City's overall planning work through ongoing interaction and discussion with community members at the neighborhood level. Studies of neighborhoods also provide an opportunity to apply Cambridge's citywide planning goals in a local context.
For planning purposes, Cambridge is organized into thirteen neighborhoods. CDD has conducted comprehensive planning studies for twelve neighborhoods (the exception is the MIT campus, for which planning is discussed through the Town-Gown process). Periodically, CDD staff conduct "Neighborhood Study Update" meetings in individual neighborhoods to discuss previous planning goals for that neighborhood, review actions that have been taken to advance those goals, and identify new issues to be addressed in future planning.
Community Planning staff are available to provide residents with information about future plans in the neighborhood and to consult with individuals or organizations who are interested in undertaking development or planning initiatives.
Other Neighborhood Planning Resources
For More Information
For general information about neighborhood planning contact Melissa Peters, Director of Community Planning, at 617/349-4605 or mpeters@cambridgema.gov.
For information about planning activities in a particular neighborhood, open the neighborhood's page listed below and look in the Contact tab for information about the neighborhood planner.
Neighborhood Planning and Information Pages
Once a village of its own, East Cambridge is one of Cambridge's oldest residential neighborhoods and is historically home to many of the city's industries, both old and new. It sits along the Charles River north of Kendall Square and east of the Grand Junction Railroad.
Area 2 consist almost entirely of the MIT campus, along the Charles River on Cambridge's southernmost edge and across the river from Boston's Back Bay.
Wellington-Harrington is a predominantly residential neighborhood located between East Cambridge and Inman Square, along the Cambridge/Somerville border. It is geographically small but populated with many three-story homes set close together.
The Port 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 Avenue to the south.
Cambridgeport is a diverse 0.5 square mile neighborhood located in the southern end of Cambridge adjacent to the Charles River and is bounded by River Street, Massachusetts Avenue, and the Grand Junction rail line.
Mid-Cambridge is one of Cambridge's largest neighborhoods, stretching from Central Square in the east to Harvard Square in the west and north to Inman Square and the Cambridge/Somerville border. It is predominantly residential but also includes parts of the Harvard University campus, Cambridge and Youville Hospitals, and the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.
Riverside is a residential neighborhood located along the Charles River, which includes some of the oldest settled parts of Cambridge.
Agassiz is a small, moderate-density residential neighborhood stretching from Harvard Square to Porter Square and to the Cambridge/Somerville border to the east. While it is predominantly residential, it also contains large portions of the Harvard University and Lesley University campuses.
Neighborhood Nine is a moderate-density residential neighborhood with around twelve thousand residents, ranging from Harvard Square to Porter Square in the east and bordered by Concord Avenue the commuter rail tracks.
West Cambridge, also referred to as Neighborhood Ten, is a relatively low-density residential neighborhood with about eight thousand residents. The neighborhood is located west of Harvard Square and bordered by Concord Avenue, the Charles River, Fresh Pond Reservation, and a portion of the former Watertown Branch railroad line. Historic Mount Auburn Cemetery is located at the southwestern edge of the neighborhood.
North Cambridge, is a diverse neighborhood of over eleven thousand residents in an approximately 0.85 square mile area in the northernmost part of the city and bordered by Alewife Brook Reservation, the city of Somerville, the town of Arlington, and railroad tracks currently used by the Fitchburg Commuter Rail Branch of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA).
The Cambridge Highlands neighborhood, located on the northeastern edge of the city is comprised of a commercial and light industrial area as well as a more residential area at its western end, bordering Belmont. The Fresh Pond Reservation borders the neighborhood to the south.
Strawberry Hill is the smallest neighborhood by land in Cambridge, it is mostly residential and has a population of approximately 2,500 residents.