Founded by the Legislature in 1963, the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC) provides a variety of services to its constituencies and brings a regional perspective to planning and development. One of 13 Regional Planning Agencies in Massachusetts, CMRPC is the designated regional planning entity for the Central Massachusetts region, which includes the City of Worcester and 39 surrounding communities in the southern two-thirds of Worcester County. CMRPC’s programs include Transportation, Regional Collaboration and Community Planning, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data services and mapping. CMRPC provides municipal and regional planning for Land Use and Transportation, as well as a variety of Community Development services, Transit Planning for the Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA), Homeland Security, staffing for MORE (Municipalities Organized for Regional Effectiveness) and the Central Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization (CMMPO) and other programs. CMRPC collaborates with local, regional, state and federal officials, as well as with legislators, in order to bring a regional perspective and a coordinated approach to the planning and development that occurs in this region. The ultimate goal of the CMRPC is to improve the quality of life for those who work and live in the Central Massachusetts region.