Are you a "Jane Jacobs in the Woo"?

Consider these questions:

1)      Do you want a Worcester that is more biking and walking centered?  Do you believe in building more bike lanes, pedestrian plazas and better public transportation options in the city?  Do you wish you didn’t have to use a car as much to get around town?

2)      Do you believe in the importance of maintaining, restoring and re-inventing our historic architectural infrastructure?  Do you support the model of the Crompton Collective, for example, to create new and innovative uses of our old buildings?

3)      Do you agree that bustling urban neighborhoods must combine a variety of mixed uses – residential, retail, industrial, cultural?  Do you believe in the importance of high density over urban or suburban sprawl?

4)      Do you assert that urban planning is best shaped by the people who live and work here and not necessarily by the “expert” city planners and city leaders?  Do you claim a voice in how development decisions are made, especially development using public funds?

5)      Do you believe in the organic, natural process of development emerging in such neighborhoods as the canal district?

6)      Do you think that a thriving Worcester will grow if we support our local artists, immigrants, college students, young adults and innovative home-grown small entrepreneurs?

If you answered “yes” to at least one of these questions, you may be a “Jane Jacobs in the Woo”.  Please join us for a year of conversations, collaborative visioning and projects. If you consider yourself a "Jane Jacobs in the Woo", press "like" below.  Even offer a comment or two.

Happy 100th Birthday Today, Jane Jacobs

Jane Jacobs (1916 – 2006), neighborhood organizer, community activist, urban theorist and mother, is today lauded for challenging traditional planning theories and practices and for having a keen understanding of what makes an exciting and vital city.  Beginning in May 2016, the month of Jane Jacobs’ 100th birthday, “Jane Jacobs in the Woo” will inaugurate a year of community conversations about building a vibrant Worcester online in this blog and offline in face-to-face happenings across the city.