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Cambridge Massachusetts
is a unique community in its mix of cultural and social diversity, intellectual
vitality and technical innovation. The city is home to internationally
known Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and over one-fourth of all its residents are college students, while one-sixth
of all its jobs are in higher education. Yet residents feel that Cambridge
is far more than a college town. It has long been an industrial innovator,
producing America's first factories for ladders, piano keys and waterproof
hats.
At one point, it was the third largest
industrial center in the Commonwealth. Today, former factory buildings
which once turned out soap or socks house cutting edge firms in biotechnology,
computer software and other emerging technologies. Close to one-third of
Massachusetts' biomedical employers reside in Cambridge. Cambridge is rich
in demographic diversity. More than one in five residents is foreign born.
Students from 64 nations attend the public schools, and their families
speak 46 different languages.
The most numerous immigrant groups
hail from Haiti, Central America and Portuguese-speaking nations, including
Brazil. An out-of-town visitor might enjoy a Greek festival or a Caribbean
gala on the same weekend and buy Portuguese pastries or fresh fish in one
block. The continued vitality of its immigrants and entrepreneurs, students
and street musicians, factory workers and professionals gives Cambridge
its unique flavor.
Cambridge Massachusetts is located
in Eastern Massachusetts, bordered by Boston on the east and south, Watertown
and Belmont on the west, and Somerville and Arlington on the north. Cambridge
is 2 miles west of Boston, |