Cambridge Community Development Department Clifford Cook

Planning Information Manager

ccook@cambridgema.gov

Expanding Sustainability between Campus and Community:

Town Gown Reporting in Cambridge, Massachusetts

April 24, 2013

About Cambridge •  6.4 square miles of land area •  Resident population 105,162 as of 2010 Census •  Daytime population 172,600, including workers and students •  10th densest city in the United States •  13 neighborhoods, each with a distinct character •  Economic activity centered around five squares •  Kendall Square adjacent to MIT serves as the center of the

State’s biotechnology and innovation economy •  Four major colleges and universities

•  44,300 Students •  20,600 Employees •  584 Buildings •  12% of land area

375 Years of Coexistence

MIT – early 1920s

1970s & 1980s: Institutional Growth & Conflict

The Town Gown Report

Charge was to “review all key issues regarding the relationship between the city and the large institutions…” and to "...forge the basis for new and more productive partnerships between the City and its large institutions for the future…”

Key to the Process: Annual Reporting

Rocky Start: Building Trust

Understanding the Strategic Plan is Key

Meeting City Goals

Example: University Park

Example: Memorial Drive at Western Avenue

Example: CGIS Buildings

Example: 90 Mt Auburn

Example: Harvard Square Placemaking

Town Gown vs. Master Plan

Resources

•  1991 Mayor's Report on University-Community Relationships http://www.cambridgema.gov/~/media/Files/CDD/Planning/TownGown/towngown_report_1991.ashx

•  Cambridge Town Gown Annual Reports

http://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/planud/institutionalplanning/recenttowngown.aspx

•  Planning and Educational Institutions in Cambridge http://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/planud/institutionalplanning.aspx

•  Kendall Square Central Square Planning Study http://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/Projects/Planning/K2C2.aspx