Baldwin - Neighborhood 8

Alden Play structure

Baldwin is a small, moderate-density residential neighborhood with around five thousand residents. Harvard Square and Porter Square, both major commercial and transit centers, lie at either end of the neighborhood, and Massachusetts Avenue, which connects the two squares, serves as the neighborhood’s retail center. Universities are a major presence in the neighborhood, which contains academic and student housing facilities for both Harvard University and Lesley University. To the east, Baldwin shares a border with the City of Somerville. In 2021 the Agassiz neighborhood was renamed as Baldwin.

Baldwin Neighborhood Map

Baldwin 3D Map

Baldwin Statistical Profile


The objective of a neighborhood study and subsequent updates is to identify planning issues in the neighborhood and articulate recommendations to address those issues. The study recommendations are the key part of the neighborhood study and updates. The recommendations are used not only to guide neighborhood planning efforts for the Community Development Department but in many cases are included as work items for other City departments when appropriate. Note that the Agassiz neighborhood was renamed to Baldwin in 2021.

2003 Neighborhood Study

The Agassiz Neighborhood Study Committee met between April of 2000 and December 2001. During that time, the Study Committee heard presentations from city staff, discussed issues, and held public forums. Topics considered include housing, land use and zoning, urban design, transportation, open space, institutional uses, and economic development. Through this process of learning, discussing, gathering feedback from the community, and working toward consensus, the committee developed recommendations to better the neighborhood. These recommendations were published in May 2003 in the Agassiz Neighborhood Study.

2003 Neighborhood Study Addendum

In 2004 the Department published an Addendum to the Neighborhood Study. The addendum serves as a guide to the implementation of the recommendations, providing a list of all recommendations from the study along with an implementation status and progress-to-date summary for each.

2008 Neighborhood Study Update

During the Fall of 2008 the Community Development Department published an Update to the Agassiz Neighborhood Study.  During the Update the Community Development Department reviewed the status of recommendations in the 2003 Agassiz Neighborhood Study, discussed current planning issues with the neighborhood residents, and developed a revised set of recommendations to reflect the current goals and concerns of the community.

To request a printed copies of any neighborhood study please call Tracey Joyce in the Community Planning Division at 617/349-4650 or email her at tjoyce@cambridgema.gov.  

  • Agassiz Baldwin Community Center

    Agassiz Baldwin Community Center

  • Community Gardens

    Agassiz Community Gardens on Sacramento Street.

  • Lesley University Building

    Lesley University campus housing.

  • Oxford Spa

    Oxford Spa, a neighborhood meeting place.

  • Agassiz Neighborhood Streetscape

    Massachusetts Avenue retail corridor in the Agassiz Neighborhood.

  • Cambridge Common outdoor seating.

    Cafe seating at Cambridge Common.

Neighborhood Planner: Daniel Wolf, dwolf@cambridgema.gov, 617/349-4618