ABOUT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
The Community Development Department (CDD) is the planning agency for the City of Cambridge. Our mission is to foster a livable, sustainable, just, and equitable community. CDD has three divisions - Community Planning & Design, Economic Opportunity & Development, and Zoning & Development - and also encompasses the Housing Department and the Cambridge Arts Council[KD1] [SC2] . We work closely with colleagues in other City Departments such as Sustainability, Public Works, and Transportation. Together, we engage and collaborate with community partners, other government agencies, businesses, and residents to make Cambridge a desirable place to live, work, learn, play, and innovate.
ABOUT THE ROLE
The Community Planning & Design Division guides growth and development to improve quality of life in the city. We provide planning and design services related to citywide and neighborhood planning, development review, and parks and public space planning, design, and programming.
This position is an opportunity for individuals interested in urban design and planning to gain first-hand experience in a very active planning and design office, working directly with urban design staff.
Urban Design Intern Responsibilities
The Urban Design Intern will provide general support for the urban design staff and undertake research projects. Specific day-to-day responsibilities may include the following:[SB3] [BG4]
Research tasks may include:
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Education & Experience
The City of Cambridge's workforce, like the community it serves, is diverse. Applicants must have the ability to work and interact effectively with individuals and groups with a variety of identities, cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies.
WORK ENVIRONMENT: Work involved is primarily indoors in a professional office setting. Standard office environment with fluorescent lighting, air conditioning, and moderate noise level. This position may be eligible for hybrid work under the City’s Telework Policy.
Start Date: June 2026 (exact date negotiable).
End Date: June 2027 (can be extended with mutual agreement
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:
Please upload the following documents to complete your application:
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, a nexus of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Notably, Cambridge is home to two internationally prominent universities, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. According to a 2008 census estimate the city population was 105,594. It is the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, Worcester, and Springfield. Cambridge is one of the two county seats of Middlesex County (Lowell is the other).
The site for what would become Cambridge was chosen in December 1630, because it was located safely up river from Boston Harbor, which made it easily defensible from attacks by enemy ships. The first houses were built in the spring of 1631. The settlement was initially referred to as "the newe towne". Official Massachusetts records show the name capitalized as Newe Towne by 1632. Located at the first convenient Charles River crossing west of Boston, Newe Towne was one of a number of towns (including Boston, Dorchester, Watertown, and Weymouth) founded by the 700 original Puritan colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony under governor John Winthrop. The original village site is in the heart of today's Harvard Square. The marketplace where farmers brought in crops from surrounding towns to sell survives today as the small park at the corner of John F. Kennedy (J.F.K.) and Winthrop Streets, then at the edge of a salt marsh, since filled.
