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Community Planning Division

Community Planning Division

Planning Board

The Planning Board is the Special Permit Granting Authority for those uses listed as "PB" in the Zoning Ordinance Article 4.000 - Use Regulations. The Planning Board conducts public hearings where applicants present proposals, public testimony is taken and findings are made as to the relief being sought. All Planning Board business is conducted during the public meeting and agendas are posted at the City Clerk's Office and online at the Planning Board web page.

Learn more about the Planning Board.
GIS and Mapping

Base map data used by the City derives from aerial photography commissioned in April 2010. Technicians processed stereoscopic photographs to delineate and identify features visible on the ground. City staff has collected other data using GPS units to locate and identify items, like street trees and bike racks. Legal descriptions or survey data provide the basis for parcel lines and other invisible boundaries. All of this information can be analyzed in a Geographic Information System, or GIS, and organized with GIS for presentation on a map.

See more examples of GIS maps.
Cambridge Riverfront

The City’s plan for making the Charles River more accessible is entitled Cambridge Riverfront Plan: Reconnecting People to the Water. The plan lays out goals for the riverfront as a whole, as well as ideas for improvements in each subset of the frontage. The plan promotes formal and informal use of the riverfront, explores destinations where people may linger and enjoy the river, in addition to active linear use such as walking or biking, and seeks to realize the full potential for liveliness offered by this defining physical feature of our community and region.

Learn more about Riverfront Planning,
Neighborhood Planning

Neighborhood-level planning is a key component of the ongoing planning 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. Neighborhood planning also provides an opportunity to apply Cambridge's citywide planning goals in a local context.

Learn more about Neighborhood Planning.
Open Space Planning

The future growth and development of Cambridge's open space system is guided by the planning work of CDD, in collaboration with other departments through the Open Space Committee.

Along with specific park projects, CDD directs a variety of planning initiatives for open spaces in the city. These include the City's comprehensive Open Space and Recreation Plan (submitted every seven years to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs) as well as other citywide initiatives focusing on different topics.

Learn more about Open Space Planning.

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What We Do

The Community Planning Division activities encompass planning and urban design, institutional planning, neighborhood planning, zoning and development review (including staffing the Planning Board) demographic and geographic analysis, development of parks and open space, and graphic design. The staff provides planning services that enhance the overall living environment of Cambridge's highly diverse population. The Division strives both to enhance relationships with residents and neighborhood organizations and to expand participation in the planning process by providing information and technical assistance to the City's residents, property owners, neighborhood groups and developers. Programs and services provided by the division fall within the following areas:

For More Information

For more information about the Community Planning Division contact Melissa Peters, Director of Community Planning at 617/349-4605 or mpeters @cambridgema.gov. Follow this link for a listing of Community Planning Division staff members.

Planning and Urban Design

Community Planning staff members work on many fronts to help the Cambridge community—residents, businesses, and institutions-- prepare for future growth and change. Planning and urban design activities include near-term projects, such as review of buildings seeking special permits from the Planning Board and longer-term projects such as the Kendall Square/Central Square Planning Study.
Zoning and Development

Community Planning staff members provide professional support on matters related to zoning policy and urban design, and to the work of the Cambridge Planning Board. Staff members are available to consult with residents, business owners, project developers and other city agencies to discuss zoning regulations or to review proposed development projects. Urban development in Cambridge is regulated by the Zoning Ordinance, which controls the overall scale and use of buildings throughout the city. Cambridge’s zoning is a reflection of CDD’s ongoing planning work, which helps to guide future urban growth in the city.
Parks and Playgrounds

Community Planning staff members conduct open space planning throughout the city and oversee major design, construction and renovation projects for Cambridge's parks and playgrounds. Community Planning staff also frequently consult with City departments and other groups on open space projects.
Facts and Maps

Community Planning staff members use a wide range of data sources to develop planning information for department and public use. Statistical tables and charts that are regularly produced cover general demographics, migration and immigration, income, labor force and employment, automobiles and commuting, land use, commercial development, housing, and education. Staff members maintain GIS data related to public parks, playgrounds, and open space; zoning and zoning overlay districts; and demographic data drawn from the United States Census.