Kendall Square has been called the densest square mile of innovation on the planet. Its information technology, social media, genomic research and biomedical research companies attract thousands of employees and visitors. Many of these organizations have relationships with MIT and Harvard, and bring in staff from the region’s many research hospitals.

With people coming and going all day, Kendall Square needs a strong approach to transportation management. In 1998, Cambridge adopted the Parking and Transportation Demand Management (PTDM) Ordinance, which helped shape travel patterns to the neighborhood. PTDM is a national model for reducing drive-alone trips, and the policy was crucial in the City’s effort to shrink the share of single-occupancy vehicle commuters from 54% in 2004 to 35% in 2019.

Click here to see the details of the map and route.

Mode

• Pedestrian: easy-to-moderate. Walking/standing for about 1.5 hours. There will be spots around the route where people can take a break and sit. Wheelchair accessible, although there will be multiple construction sites that may block sidewalks.

Leader

• Stephanie Groll, PTDM Officer, Cambridge Community Development Department

Speaker

• Mike O’Hearn, Boston Properties

On this tour, we’ll show how a partnership between planners working on PTDM, infrastructure and transit shaped developments in Kendall Square. We’ll talk about effective ways to reduce driving, and examine the negotiations, equity challenges and outcomes of the program.