“People get anxious, worried and occasionally lose their temper,” Rudenstine adds of reactions to Harvard’s development proposals in Cambridge.

In contrast, the University has taken a broad approach regarding Allston development, following a city-required institutional master plan to develop the entire site.

Since each development proposal in Allston will be part of a larger plan of development for the entire area, Harvard receives less criticism from residents and government officials than in Cambridge.

“Development in Boston won’t go through the same multi-layered scrutiny that it would in Cambridge,” Power says.

And because Allston is just one centralized area of future development, Power also says the residents in Allston are easier to deal with.

“In Cambridge we have to strategically manage different groups, while in Allston there’s basically just one group,” Power says. “While there are different interests, it’s one neighborhood.”

The residents in Allston are also more open to development of their neighborhood, hoping the University will revitalize their surroundings, both physically and economically.

“In Allston, neighbors want to see some transformative change,” says Kathy Spiegelman, director of Harvard Planning and Real Estate (HPRE). “Growth and development isn’t as welcomed in Cambridge as it is in Allston.”

Cambridge and Boston’s differing political systems force the University to deal with its host communities differently as well, University officials say.

Grogan says the Boston political system—which features a strong mayor as opposed to Cambridge’s weak mayor and proportional representation system—has made it easier for the University to work with Boston to push forward development plans and partnerships.

“There’s more of an incentive to seek compromise and reconcile differences in Boston,” Grogan says. “A strong mayor has to do that.”

Because of the weak mayor system in Cambridge, Grogan says Cambridge “has no comparable figure” to Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, allowing Cambridge councillors to attack the University at will instead of forging compromise through a strong leader.

But while Galluccio acknowledges that the Cambridge council role is more fragmented, he downplays the differences between the forms of government.

“There are unique challenges to different forms of government,” Galluccio says. “But I think that blaming problems on the form of government is over-generalizing analysis bordering on a cop-out.”

The Cold Shoulder