(Cities and Towns)
When editing roads and places, please make sure you enter the correct name.
There are 351 Cities and Towns in the commonwealth. See the MA Cities and Towns List for proper naming information.
General rules:
1. Use the official name from the MA City List as primary on road segments, unless:
2. There is a well-established village/neighborhood/CDP name, that is more commonly used (for example, Hyannis). has been cleared with SMs, and is listed on the MA City List as accepted. This can be used as the primary, with official name as an alternate. Use USPS Zip Code boundaries to determine the extent of neighborhoods/villages. (The WME US Government Boundaries script is useful for this purpose.)
3. There is duplication in street name / address between villages (e.g. Harwichport/West Harwich) or a neighborhood vs. city (Dorchester/Boston), leading to routing issues which could be solved by using village/neighborhood name as primary. Again, clearance by SM required.
4. If there are any other oddball cases, raise in the MA Forum or in Discord. Discussion, agreement, and listing on the MA City List is required.
DO NOT Use ANY of the "Greater *** Area" or "*** Center" "Towns" and rename roads you come across.