Riverside - Neighborhood 7

• Neighborhood Description
• Link to Neighborhood Map (PDF format, 830 KB)
• Link to Neighborhood Statistics
• 2003 Riverside Neighborhood Study
• 1992 Riverside Neighborhood Study
• Also of Interest to Neighborhood Residents
• Neighborhood Organizations
• Contact Neighborhood Planner

Neighborhood Description

Riverside is a residential neighborhood located along the Charles River, which includes some of the oldest settled parts of Cambridge. Harvard Square and Central Square, both major commercial and transit centers, lie at either end of the neighborhood. Massachusetts Avenue, which connects the two squares, serves as the neighborhood’s retail. Smaller commercial areas exist along Putnam Avenue, Western Avenue and River Street. Much of Harvard University’s student housing is located in Riverside. Riverside is also home to some of Harvard’s academic facilities and the primary academic and administrative facility for Cambridge College.

• Link to Neighborhood Map (PDF format, 830 KB)
• Link to Neighborhood Statistics

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2003 Riverside Neighborhood Study

From 2001 to 2003 a comprehensive planning study of the Riverside Neighborhood, conducted during an 18-month development moratorium, created a vision for the study area, addressed concerns about the impacts of development, and identified strategies to realize the vision.

To guide this planning process, the City Manager appointed an eighteen-member committee including neighborhood residents, Riverside business representatives, Harvard University representatives, and City staff. The committee worked closely with a team of professional planning consultants led by Stull and Lee Inc., analyzing neighborhood issues and opportunities, exploring numerous alternative development scenarios and hosting two community workshops. The Committee looked broadly at neighborhood issues and in more depth at future development options for key sites of paramount interest to members of the Committee and the community at large. Planning issues addressed included urban design, housing, open space, land use, zoning, transportation, and Institutional use.

The Committee forwarded zoning recommendations to the Planning Board in August 2003; the Riverside Zoning was adopted by the City Council in October 2003. The pertinent zoning changes are incorporated into Cambridge Ordinance Number 1269, amending the zoning code, and Harvard University’s Letter of Commitment for Ordinance No. 1269.

The following materials from the Committee’s deliberations and subsequent discussions are available on line. These files are in PDF format and require use of the free Adobe Acrobat viewer..

May 2003 Riverside Neighborhood Study

• 2003 Riverside Neighborhood Study (complete report, 3.7 MB)

Table of Contents and Executive Summary (531 KB) Chapter 1 (515 KB) Chapter 1 - high resolution version  (2.1 MB) Chapter 2 (641 KB) Chapter 2 - high resolution version  (2.4 MB) Appendix A (118 KB) Appendix B (688 KB)

Appendix C Appendix D (469 KB) Appendix E (1.0 MB) Appendix F (450 KB) Appendix G Appendix H (596 KB) Appendix I (175 KB) Appendix J Errata

Other Committee Materials

• Residents’ Addendum to the Riverside Neighborhood Planning Study
• Memo to the Riverside Study Committee from member Phyllis Bauman regarding parking permits for students in dormitories

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1992 Riverside Neighborhood Study

The first neighborhood study was conducted in 1993 to 1994 and issued in 1998. These files are in PDF format and require use of the free Adobe Acrobat viewer.

• 1992 Riverside Neighborhood Study (complete report, 759 KB)
• Table of contents (257 KB)
• Pages 1 through 18 (278 KB)
• Pages 19 through 52 (144 KB)
• Pages 53 through 92 (153 KB)
• Appendices

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Also of Interest to Neighborhood Residents

• Cambridge College and Harvard University 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.
• Franklin Street Park Improvements, completed 2003
• Harvard Square Advisory Committee and other Harvard Square Links
• Harvard Square Design Project. See also DPW Construction Updates and Project Overview.
• Harvard Square Conservation District, administered by the Cambridge Historical Commission
• Harvard University Letter of Commitment for Ordinance No. 1269 (768 KB)
  • Cambridge Ordinance Number 1269
• Harvard Square Map (571 KB)