Toronto has Nathan Phillips Square. New York has Times Square. Now, Cambridge is getting a civic square to call its own. The square will be the home for concerts, meetings and special events. It will attract new and exciting activities and people to the downtown core.

You might say that the square will be the place to be, and be seen, in downtown Cambridge.

“It’s going to be a magnificent plus,” says Greg Durocher, President of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce.

As an extension of the new Civic Administration Building, the civic square will be the focal point for a new and revitalized downtown.

It will also become a source of civic pride.

“We’re putting our footprint in our own soil,” adds Durocher. “This is truly an investment in the future of our community.”

Experts say public squares are essential to bringing members of a community together. Civic squares are places where people come to meet, mingle and discuss ideas. They prompt people to get out of their homes and learn about each other. Public squares are also places where people just relax.

“Public spaces are the living room of the city,” says Vancouver architect Bing Thom, a Member of the Order of Canada.

“That’s where people come to enjoy themselves. It’s the accidental collision (of people) that causes social interaction.”

Another benefit of a public square is that it makes a community safer.

“The more law-abiding people you have walking downtown, the less criminals you have in the area,” says Ward 4 Councillor Ben Tucci.

“It (the new square) is a disincentive to crime.”

But the new civic square in downtown Cambridge will be more than a place for people to meet. It will also spark new interest in the city’s important heritage buildings. In that sense, the square will be the link between the city’s past and the city’s future.

“If you don’t (add to) the built heritage that you have, and make it functional… then what’s the sense in having (heritage buildings)?” says Durocher.

When it comes to the city’s heritage, it really is a case of “if you don’t use it, you lose it.” Fortunately, the new civic square will give Cambridge residents a newfound pride in their community and a reason to re-experience a common and valued past.