Medford Square. Photo by Steve Adams | Banker & Tradesman Staff

A women-owned firm from Cambridge will lead Medford’s upcoming citywide master planning process.

Agency Landscape + Planning, in collaboration with Innes Associates, Karp Strategies, Arup, and LANDAU Design+Technology, will coordinate community meetings, focus groups and online surveys over the 18-month process, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn announced this week. In a request for proposals last fall, the city prioritized consultants that would maximize public participation and engagement with a diverse community. Agency Landscape + Planning was co-founded by former Sasaki executives Gina Ford and Brie Hensold in 2017, and advised Massport on its public realm initiative.

Eight firms submitted proposals last fall to lead the 18-month process and took part in interviews in December. The study will include transportation, economic development, housing, history and culture, open space and public services.

In 2017, the city hired Metropolitan Area Planning Council for a land-use study of the Mystic Avenue corridor, which recommended rezoning the commercial and industrial district for mixed-use developments including multifamily housing. The proposal was shelved by former Mayor Stephanie Burke amid criticism from city councilors, including Lungo-Koehn, about insufficient public notice. In her campaign for mayor in 2019, Lungo-Koehn advocated for a citywide master plan.