Cambridge is a city in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, United States. It was named in honor of Cambridge, England. Cambridge is most famous for the two prominent universities that call it home: Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 101,355. It is the fifth most populous city in the state.

Cambridge is a county seat of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, along with Lowell. Though the county government was abolished in 1997, it still exists as a geographical and political region. The employees of Middlesex County courts, jails, registries, and other county agencies now work directly for the state.

 About the city          

The city and its universities, particularly Harvard, have strong leftist traditions, with some (typically outside the city) even referring to the city as the PRC, or the "People's Republic of Cambridge" and Harvard as the Kremlin on the Charles. Cambridge is also known as "Boston's Left Bank" (although it is not part of the city of Boston).

Cambridge has also been called the "City of Squares" by some, as most of its commercial districts are major street intersections known as squares. Because most streets were laid out centuries ago, few of these squares resemble a geometric square in any way—Harvard Square is in fact formed by two converging curved streets. Each of the squares acts as something of a neighborhood center. These include:

• Kendall Square, formed by the junction of Broadway, Main Street, and Third Street. Just over the Longfellow Bridge from Boston, at the eastern end of the MIT campus. It is served by an MBTA Red Line station. Most of Cambridge's large office towers are located here, giving the area somewhat of an office park feel. A flourishing biotech industry has grown up around here. The "One Kendall Square" complex is nearby, but—confusingly—not actually in Kendall Square.
• Central Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street, and Western Avenue. This is perhaps the closest thing Cambridge has to a downtown, and is well-known for its wide variety of ethnic restaurants. Even as recently as the late 1990s it was rather run-down; it underwent a controversial gentrification in recent years (in conjunction with the development of the nearby University Park at MIT), and continues to grow more expensive. It is served by a Red Line station. Lafayette Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street, and Main Street, is considered a part of the Central Square area. Cambridgeport is south of Central Square along Magazine Street and Brookline Street.

Harvard Square

• Harvard Square, formed by the junction of Mass. Avenue, Brattle Street, and JFK Street. This is the site of Harvard University, the oldest university in the United States and is a major Cambridge shopping area (although not as exclusively so as in years past). It is served by a Red Line station. A short distance away from the square lies the Cambridge Common, while the neighborhood north of Harvard but east of Mass Ave is known as Agassiz in honor of the famed scientist Louis Agassiz.
• Porter Square, about a mile north on Mass. Ave from Harvard Square, formed by the junction of Mass. Ave and Somerville Ave, and including part of the city of Somerville. It is served by the Porter Square station which includes a Red Line stop and a Fitchburg Line commuter rail stop in the same building.
• Inman Square, at the junction of Cambridge and Hampshire streets in Mid-Cambridge. The most "funky" and "unique" of the squares, Inman Square is home to many diverse restaurants, bars and boutiques. Ryles Jazz Club and the S&S restaurant are two legends of Inman Square. The funky street scene still holds some urban flair but was dressed up recently with Victorian street lights, benches and bus-stops. A new community park was installed and is a favorite place to enjoy some takeout food from the nearby restaurants and ice cream parlor.
• Lechmere Square, at the junction of Cambridge and First streets, adjacent to the CambridgeSide Galleria shopping mall. Perhaps best known as the eastern terminus of the MBTA Green Line subway.

The residential neighborhoods (map) in Cambridge border, but are not defined by the squares. These include:

• East Cambridge (Area 1) is bordered on the north by the Somerville border, on the east by the Charles River, on the south by Broadway and Main Street, then on the west by railroad tracks.
• MIT Campus (Area 2) is bordered on the north by Broadway and on the south and east by the Charles River, then on the west by railroad tracks.
• Wellington-Harrington (Area 3) bordered on the north by the Somerville border and on the south and west by Hampshire Street, then on the east by railroad tracks.
• Area 4 is bordered on the north by Hampshire Street and on the south by Massachusetts Avenue, then on the west by Prospect Street and on the east by railroad tracks. Residents of Area 4 often refer to their neighborhood as simply "Port", and refer to the area of Cambridgeport and riverside as "Coast". "Port" is often associated with the number 44 and the slogan "Port Life 44" refers to the area's number.
• Cambridgeport (Area 5) is bordered on the north by Massachusetts Avenue and on the south by the Charles River, then on the west by River Street and on the east by railroad tracks.
• Mid Cambridge (Area 6) is bordered on the north by Kirkland and Hampshire Streets and the Somerville border and on the south by Massachusetts Avenue, then on the west by Peabody Street and on the east by Prospect Street.
• Riverside (Area 7) this area, sometimes refferred to as "Coast" is bordered on the north by Massachusetts Avenue and on the south by the Charles River, then on the west by JFK Street and on the east by River Street.
• Agassiz (Harvard North) (Area 8) is bordered on the north by the Somerville border and on the south and east by Kirkland Street, then on the west by Massachusetts Avenue.
• Radcliffe/Avon Hill/Neighborhood 9 (Area 9) is bordered on the north by railroad tracks and on the south by Concord Avenue, then on the west by railroad tracks and Massachusetts Avenue. The Avon Hill sub-neighorhood consists of the higher elevations bounded by Upland Road, Raymond Street, Linnaean Street and Mass Ave.
• Brattle area/West Cambridge (Area 10) is bordered on the north by Concord Avenue and Garden Street and on the south by the Charles River and the Watertown border, then on the west by the east shore of Fresh Pond and the Collins Branch Library and on the east by JFK Street. It includes the sub-neignborhoods of Brattle Street and Huron Village.
• North Cambridge (Area 11) is bordered on the north by the Cambridge border and partially the Somerville border and on the south by the railroad tracks, then on the west by the Belmont border and on the east by the Somerville border.
• Cambridge Highlands (Area 12) is bordered on the north and east by railroad tracks and on the south by the north shore of the Fresh Pond, then on the west by the Belmont border.
• Strawberry Hill (Area 13) is bordered on the north by the south shore of Fresh Pond and on the south by the Watertown border, then on the west by the Belmont border and on the east by railroad tracks.

At the western edge of Cambridge, Mount Auburn Cemetery is well known as the first garden cemetery, for its distinguished inhabitants, for its superb landscaping (the oldest planned landscape in the country), and as a first-rate arboretum.

Although one often sees references to the "Boston/Cambridge area" in print, Cambridge prefers to retain its own unique and legally-separate identity.