Harvard, City Will Increase Cooperation in Next Decade.

In a meeting at the posh Inn at Harvard Square yesterday afternoon, Harvard Director of Planning Kathy A. Spiegelman told a gathering of Cambridge residents how Harvard plans to cooperate with the city in the coming decade.

Spiegelman presented a slide show entitled "A Planning Context for Harvard in Cambridge" in which she outlined physical developments associated with the ongoing $2.1 capital campaign.

In contrast to previous periods where Harvard has expanded its resources, the University will be acquiring little, if any, additional property in the city, Spiegelman said. She said money raised in the campaign, which is the largest fund drive in the history of higher education, would be used for renovations rather than new building.

She quoted President Neil L. Rudenstine as saying "the balance will increasingly be struck in favor of the renovation and adaptive re-use of existing facilities, rather than the construction of new ones."

Spiegelman sought to allay the fears of neighbors who have fought to prevent Harvard's expansion in the past. The University, she promised, will preserve open spaces and historical buildings and will not increase parking--a frequent point of contention between Harvard and local residents in recent years.

She also told The Cambridge Chronicle last week that bold construction on Harvard property, like the building of the Peabody Terrace skyscrapers during the 1970s, are a thing of the past.

"The core activities that the University is trying to promote in the next decade don't depend on Harvard acquiring real estate," Spiegelman said. "That's not the way Harvard is going anymore."

Harvard is the city's largest employer and landowner, and the fund drive will only increase its force in the local economy, she said.

Although Harvard, as a non-profit organization, does not pay taxes, Spiegelman said the University--in recognition of the duties of Cambridge citizenship--has increased payments to the city from $2 million to more than $4 million over the past decade.

Spiegelman talked about the intellectual and cultural opportunities on campus that are available to city residents, as well as the demographic diversity Harvard attracts to Cambridge.

Spiegelman noted that nearly 70 percent of undergraduates participate in community service programs in the city.