Sources and methodology
Every figure on this site names the record it came from. This page lists those records in one place, and lists what has been looked for and not found.
Sources in use
Collected automatically from the trackers, the calendar and the petition routes. A source cannot appear here unless some part of the site relies on it.
- Cambridge City CouncilRules of the City Councilhttps://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/citycouncil/rulesofthecitycouncil
Relied on by: Petitions · Zoning petition · Petitions · Petition to the City Council
- Cambridge Election Commission2025 Municipal Election Official Resultshttps://www.cambridgema.gov/departments/electioncommission/news/2025/11/2025municipalelectionofficialresultsnovember14thupdate
Relied on by: Petitions · Citywide initiative or referendum
- City of CambridgeCambridge City Councilhttps://www.cambridgema.gov/citycouncil
Relied on by: T05 · Voting & Representation
- City of CambridgeCambridge combined sewer overflowshttps://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/publicworks/Services/combinedseweroverflows
Relied on by: T02 · Rainfall · Space · Flooding
- City of CambridgeCambridge GIShttps://www.cambridgema.gov/GIS
Relied on by: T01 · Tree, Canopy & Microclimate · T06 · Permits & Development Accountability · T08 · Neighborhood Activity & Project Portfolio · Civic calendar
- City of CambridgeCambridge housing datahttps://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/housing
Relied on by: T03 · TRUE Affordability Across Generations
- City of CambridgeCambridge Open Datahttps://data.cambridgema.gov/
Relied on by: T03 · TRUE Affordability Across Generations · T04 · TRUE Multifamily Living Across Generations · T06 · Permits & Development Accountability · T07 · Civic Process & Complaints Navigator · Civic calendar
- City of CambridgeMultifamily zoninghttps://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/zoninganddevelopment
Relied on by: T04 · TRUE Multifamily Living Across Generations
- City of CambridgeOpen meeting portalhttps://cambridgema.gov/citycalendar
Relied on by: T06 · Permits & Development Accountability · T07 · Civic Process & Complaints Navigator · T08 · Neighborhood Activity & Project Portfolio · Civic calendar
- City of CambridgeTree removal permitshttps://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/publicworks/Services/urbanforestry
Relied on by: T01 · Tree, Canopy & Microclimate
- City of Cambridge Election CommissionOfficial 2025 election resultshttps://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/electioncommission
Relied on by: T05 · Voting & Representation
- City of Cambridge, City Clerk’s OfficeZoning Petitionshttps://www.cambridgema.gov/Services/zoningpetitions
Relied on by: Petitions · Zoning petition
- City of Cambridge, Community Development DepartmentZoning FAQhttps://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/zoninganddevelopment/Resources/zoningfaq
Relied on by: Petitions · Zoning petition
- Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMIT Living Wage Calculatorhttps://livingwage.mit.edu/
Relied on by: T03 · TRUE Affordability Across Generations
- NOAAClimate Normalshttps://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/land-based-station/us-climate-normals
Relied on by: T02 · Rainfall · Space · Flooding
- United States Census BureauACS citizen voting-age populationhttps://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Relied on by: T05 · Voting & Representation
- USDA Forest Servicei-Tree Ecohttps://www.itreetools.org/
Relied on by: T01 · Tree, Canopy & Microclimate
Looked for and not found
These are records the site expects to show and cannot yet. They are listed because an incomplete public record and incomplete work are different things, and a reader is entitled to know which one they are looking at.
| Area | Looked for | Last checked |
|---|---|---|
| T01 · Tree, Canopy & Microclimate | Cambridge tree removal permits | 2026-08-15 |
| T02 · Rainfall · Space · Flooding | NOAA Climate Normals and Cambridge stormwater records | 2026-08-15 |
| T03 · TRUE Affordability Across Generations | Cambridge housing data and MIT Living Wage | 2026-08-15 |
| T04 · TRUE Multifamily Living Across Generations | Cambridge housing data and multifamily zoning records | 2026-08-15 |
| T05 · Voting & Representation | Certified 2025 election results | 2026-08-15 |
| T06 · Permits & Development Accountability | Cambridge Open Data permit records | 2026-08-15 |
| T07 · Civic Process & Complaints Navigator | Jurisdiction and process registry | 2026-08-15 |
| T08 · Neighborhood Activity & Project Portfolio | Cambridge open meeting portal | 2026-08-15 |
| Petitions · Zoning petition | City Clerk’s Office and Election Commission — how the registration of the ten voters is checked, and what a petition should carry to make that check possible | 2026-08-15 |
| Petitions · Zoning petition | M.G.L. c.40A §5 as applied in Cambridge — the period within which the City Council must act on a filed zoning petition, and what happens if it does not. Neither the City Clerk’s zoning-petition page nor the zoning FAQ publishes this figure, and reading it out of the statute here would be legal advice | 2026-08-15 |
| Petitions · Zoning petition | City Clerk’s Office — which categories of zoning petition require the six-vote supermajority rather than the five-vote majority. The zoning FAQ states that both thresholds exist but does not list which petitions fall under each | 2026-08-15 |
| Petitions · Petition to the City Council | City Clerk’s Office — whether a petition to the City Council carries any eligibility or minimum-signer requirement. The Rules of the City Council set out how such a petition is handled but do not state who may bring one | 2026-08-15 |
| Petitions · Petition to the City Council | City Clerk’s Office — whether a standard form exists for a petition or communication to the City Council, and what identifying details it must carry. No such form is published alongside the zoning petition form | 2026-08-15 |
| Petitions · Petition to the City Council | City Clerk’s Office — whether any fee applies to a petition or communication to the City Council. A fee is published for zoning petitions; nothing is published for this route | 2026-08-15 |
| Petitions · Petition to the City Council | City Clerk’s Office — which parts of a filed petition, including signers’ names and addresses, are published on the agenda and retained as a public record. Assume anything filed may become public until the Clerk confirms otherwise | 2026-08-15 |
| Petitions · Petition to the City Council | City Clerk’s Office — how the disposition of a filed petition is recorded and where a petitioner reads the result. Agendas and minutes are published through the Open Meeting Portal, but no per-petition status record is published | 2026-08-15 |
| Petitions · Citywide initiative or referendum | Cambridge Election Commission — who may start a citywide initiative or referendum under the Charter now in force. Cambridge voters accepted a new City Charter at the November 4, 2025 municipal election, and the Commission’s charter page still describes the text as proposed | 2026-08-15 |
| Petitions · Citywide initiative or referendum | Cambridge Election Commission — the number or percentage of registered voters required to bring a citywide initiative or referendum petition, under the Charter now in force. No figure is stated here because quoting a threshold from a charter that may have been superseded would send residents to gather the wrong number of signatures | 2026-08-15 |
| Petitions · Citywide initiative or referendum | Cambridge Election Commission — the period within which signatures must be gathered and filed, and the deadline for a referendum after the measure it concerns is passed | 2026-08-15 |
| Petitions · Citywide initiative or referendum | Cambridge Election Commission — how signatures are certified, what a signature sheet must contain, and how many sheets a petition may be spread across | 2026-08-15 |
| Petitions · Citywide initiative or referendum | Cambridge Election Commission and the City Solicitor — the effective date of the accepted Charter and which petition provisions apply before and after it | 2026-08-15 |
| Petitions · Citywide initiative or referendum | Cambridge Election Commission — the steps that follow the filing of a certified citywide petition, and the body that acts at each one | 2026-08-15 |
How figures are classified
- Fact
- Direct from an identified authoritative or primary source.
- Calculated
- The formula uses identified inputs and the method is reproducible.
- Scenario
- Selected assumptions rather than a record of what happened. Excluded from factual totals.
- Community-submitted
- Submitted by a member and published only after moderation. Not official evidence.
- Missing
- An expected field is unavailable. The attempted source and last check are shown.
- Disputed
- Two or more material claims remain unresolved. Every supported value stays visible.
