"Over the next few months, we'll really be taking a good look at how we can improve Harvard Square," says Denise Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association. Jillson says the committees, an outgrowth of community and business input, will help resolve a number of issues, among them how to make the square even more vibrant and appealing to visitors.

A marketing and re-branding strategy to include slogans, signs, buttons and T-shirts is currently under consideration but Jillson says the groups will also look at adding more art displays, outdoor restaurant seating, and cultural events. Plans also call for creating outdoor space for the square's many performing artists, including the erection of an outdoor movie screen that can be used to broadcast community events like Harvard University's graduation ceremony, Jillson says.

The city has already undertaken some improvements with a $6.8-million commitment to improve roads, sidewalks, lighting and plazas in five key square locations in the square to make it more pedestrian-friendly.

The move by Cambridge to beef up its downtown shopping area follows on the heels of Boston's decision to re-brand Downtown Crossing, which unlike Cambridge, has suffered in recent years from a number of store closings, including the pending closing of Filene's.