As if hovering over the heart of the city in a helicopter, Medford residents at the Sept. 7 Medford Square Master Plan community forum were able to zoom out and assess the Square from a more strategic vantage point.

After filling the City Council chambers at City Hall, residents shuffled around the room to study a series of posters that revealed the Square’s current state using pie charts, color-coded maps and other snazzy graphics.

For many residents who have long bemoaned the Square’s shortcomings, all of it served as recognition of everything they’ve been saying about the area for years.

“We’ve heard in some feedback from you all that it’s not the right mix of uses,” said Josh Fiala, of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), about the types of businesses in the area. “There’s a lot of salons and things like that. Well, the existing business inventory that we performed would actually support those types of comments.”

The forum, organized by the city’s Office of Community Development and MAPC, was the first of three forums that are part of a planning process to revitalize Medford Square. Earlier this year, the city received $90,000 in grants from MAPC and Boston-based Barr Foundation to fund the revitalization effort.

Overseeing the project is Fiala, senior regional planner in MAPC’s Land Use Department, who spent part of the forum presenting 52 slides dissecting the Square by land use, zoning, historic markers, transit and pedestrian networks and traffic patterns. It also included a breakdown of existing business types and a market analysis.

“In a lot of ways, this study mirrors a study of Medford Square which occurred in 2005,” Fiala said, referring to Sasaki Associates’ 2005 Medford Square Master Plan, one of a handful of studies on the Square conducted in the last decade-plus that have produced few concrete changes. “But that was 2005, 11 years ago. Certainly a lot of things have changed within our Boston region: the marketplace, the economics, how redevelopment is occurring. We’re going to use those studies as a foundation to look at those things with fresh eyes.”

According to MAPC’s market analysis, the Square is ripe for growth, with a potential $12.9 million retail sales gap within a five-minute walk of the downtown district — “dollars which are leaving Medford Square to be spent elsewhere” currently, Fiala said.

To capitalize, the city would need to attract new businesses to the Square, which was one of the themes expressed by attendees during a 15-minute open forum.

“Provide incentives to the landlords to work with the city to bring viable, vibrant businesses to the city,” said Janet Donnelly, executive director of the Medford Chamber of Commerce. “Because that’s one of the biggest problems is landlords don’t care right now, and there’s no incentive for them to rent out good businesses in the Square.”

Medford resident and local businessman Domenic Camarra recalled a recent conversation with a friend from Tufts University, which highlighted the lack of entertainment venues in the Square.

“He said, ‘You know what, the kids don’t think Medford Square is cool,’” Camarra said. “How do we make it cool?”

Others pointed out more basic issues plaguing the Square, such as the cleanliness of its streets and sidewalks.

“We just don’t keep the city clean,” said Ezabel Lynch, who lives on Forest Street. “The streets are dirty. There’s trash everywhere, weeds everywhere, in front of all the restaurants. It’s a mess. I walk every day, and every day I’m picking up trash or weeds — I can’t believe the amount of weeds on the sidewalks. It’s not inviting.”

Route 16 overpass

MAPC’s analysis divided the Square into three subareas: East Square, West Square and the to-be-developed section South Square.

The latter draws on a recommendation by Mayor Stephanie M. Burke’s Transition Team to redevelop city-owned land on Main Street south of the Mystic River and apply the proceeds toward building a new police and fire headquarters elsewhere.

The river is a focus of the city’s plan to revitalize the area — and to connect its north and south sides. Currently, the river is “invisible in a lot of ways in Medford Square,” Fiala said.

To open access to the river, the city is considering asking the state to “ground” the Route 16 overpass above Main Street, which currently makes it difficult to access the river (and the Square, for those coming from Somerville or South Medford).

“There’s an impenetrable barrier, Route 16, you can’t cross it on Main Street, you can’t cross it near the [crosswalk] because nobody stops for that red light,” said Medford resident Matt Carty.

Next steps

Using feedback shared by residents at the forum, along with the recently released report “Shaping Medford: Community Conversations to guide our Economic Future,” MAPC staff plan to study redevelopment options and zoning and parking conditions before the next community forum, tentatively scheduled for early winter.

MAPC and the city plan to hold a third and final forum in the early spring, Fiala said.

“The next meeting we’ll have worked through and thought out some ways to solve these problems,” he said.