Cambridge Undergoes City Planning Inquiry

A public administration institute will make a $25,000 study of Cambridge's manifold voluntary and public planning agencies during the coming year. The study will attempt to establish a clearcut division of labor and chain of command among the agencies.

City Manager James L. Sullivan announced the study at last night's council meeting, saying the City needed "a good hard look" at its various planning agencies. The Institute of Public Administration, a New York non-profit organization, will make the study.

Ford Foundation

The Ford Foundation is putting up the $25,000 needed, Sullivan said, commenting that the money would come from foundation president McGeorge Bundy's special expenditure fund.

The firm will study the work of the Planning Board, the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority, and all volunteer planning agencies, such as the neighborhood planning teams, Sullivan said. In response to a question from Councillor Edward A. Crane '35, the manager said that the Harvard and M.I.T. planning offices would be included. "Certainly, I think that any planning done by Harvard or M.I.T. has a direct bearing on the City," Sullivan commented.

The manager said he hopes for an outline of the study within six weeks and completion in less than a year.