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Cambridge Anti-Racism, Equity & Inclusion Initiative

This community’s racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity shapes Cambridge and is what makes it a desirable and enriching place to live, work, and raise a family. In order to best serve the Cambridge community, the City must take an inclusive and equitable approach to address residents' needs.

MBTA bus in dedicated bus lane on Route 2.

Transportation & Mobility

Green Line Extension (GLX) opened the Green Line Extension Union Square Station in March 2022, dedicated bus lanes and separated bike facilities were implemented in multiple areas, new Bluebike stations were installed, an much more.

The completion of Frost Terrace in FY22 brought 40 new affordable housing units to Porter Square. Photo by Robert Benson Photography.

Access to Affordable Housing For All

Housing affordability promotes stability for our residents and allows for building the social, economic, and cultural bonds that strengthen a community. Creating and preserving affordable housing remains the City’s highest priority. In FY22, the City appropriated more than $32 million to the Affordable Housing Trust, bringing the total of City funds committed to the Trust to more than $278 million (FY92-FY22) to invest in affordable housing initiatives.

Timothy J. Toomey, Jr. Park in East Cambridge.

Fostering Neighborhood Vitality & Open Spaces

The last two years have highlighted the importance of access to outdoor open space. In FY22, the City launched the Our Parks, Our Plan process to develop an action plan for the City’s open space network, applying an equity lens to criteria that include park access and climate resilience.

The City's Community Engagement Team and Cambridge Police collaborated on door-to-door outreach.

Redefining Community Engagement

In FY22, the Community Development Department (CDD) established a Community Engagement Advisory Group for staff to share best practices and reflect on strategies to make engagement more inclusive and equitable. This Group developed a handbook on inclusive and equitable engagement best practices which will be published in September 2022. The handbook, which uses an anti-racism and equity lens to approach planning, implementation, and reflection of community engagement strategies, will be used to increase participation in public processes and programs.

City staff hand out free at-home COVID-19 test kits.

Supporting Youth and Families, Seniors, & Veterans

Preschool, Childcare, and Afterschool programs, a part of the Department of Human Service Programs (DHSP), returned to in-person care and child-centered programming in September 2021.

Nurses from Cambridge Public Health Department

Promoting Community Health

Improving public health in Cambridge is a citywide effort involving many City departments and community partners. The Cambridge Public Health Department (CPHD), a nationally accredited health department, spearheads the City’s public health approach and programming.

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