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The Boston Planning & Development Agency picked Roslindale Square and Hyde Park’s Cleary Square neighborhoods for the first steps in its “Squares + Streets” rezoning initiative that encourages mid-rise housing development.

The public engagement process will begin in February, followed by two additional neighborhoods, Dorchester’s Fields Corner and Codman Square, in the spring.

The Squares + Streets initiative is part of Mayor Michelle Wu’s strategy to encourage housing development along major corridors and business districts in outlying neighborhoods near transit stops.

Each of the neighborhood studies is expected to take six to nine months, and result in rezoning recommendations under a series of “small area plans.”

“By intentionally encouraging housing production in transit-accessible squares and main streets that offer an abundance of commercial, civic, cultural, and transportation resources, Boston residents and business owners will feel benefits beyond access to housing,” the BPDA announced Wednesday.

The rezoning also seeks to improve prospects for arts, cultural and retail space.

In December, BPDA staff presented a potential model for the rezoning process that would divide each small area into five subdistricts, with the highest density closest to transit:

• S-O Transition Residential District: A primarily residential district with a maximum 14 units and maximum heights of 50 feet;
• S-1 Main Street Living District: Majority residential uses with small ground-floor offices or storefronts and maximum heights of 50 feet;
• S-2 Main Street Mixed-Use District: Mid-rise buildings with street frontage and commercial or active ground-floor uses and maximum heights of 65 feet;
• S-3 Active Main Street District: Taller mid-rise buildings with required active ground-floor uses and maximum heights of 85 feet;
• S-4 Active Squares: Mid-rise mixed-use buildings with residential or commercial uses on upper floors and maximum heights of 85 feet.

An analysis by zoning expert and former Hartford Planning & Zoning Commission Chair Sara Bronin described the Boston zoning code as “abnornally long and complex” with many anachronisms and outdated uses. The amendments could reduce the number of zoning uses in the code from more than 250 to 70.

In March, the BPDA approved a large-scale housing development near the Roslindale Village station on the MBTA commuter rail.

The 361 Belgrade Ave. project would include 124 residential units in a 5-story building.