Walking and Talking "Jane" during Jane Jacobs In the Woo Week

Watch Deb Packard of Preservation Worcester, Jerry Powers of WalkBike Worcester and City Councilor Moe Bergman as they talk Jane Jacobs in the Woo and get out the word of Jane Week that happened May 1 - 7, 2017. Click here....

Over 375 local people came out to walk, talk, debate and laugh with us during Jane Week, May 1 - 7th, 2017. Enjoy this photo montage of the excitement!  

Image of Aunt Jane

Nancy McBride's painting of her aunt, Jane Jacobs

Growth By Design: The Interplay Between Urban Development and Urban Design

The Worcester Regional Research Bureau kicked off Jane Week with a forum about urban design. Boston based architect Tim Love was joined by a panel representing Springfield, Lowell, Northampton and Boston.

Learning how other cities demand fine design

Panelists included Michael Dipasquale of the UMASS Design Center in Springfield, Carolyn Misch, Senior Planner from Northampton, Claire Ricker, Chief Design Planner of Lowell and Kairos Shen, former Chief Planner from the Boston Redevelopment Authority

Advice to Worcester

"Worcester should be asking for high-quality developments.  And your'e on your way... maybe you need to be a little bit more vocal and say, 'we're small and we're growing but we know quality when we see it.'" Kairos Shen

"A lot of people, especially younger people... want to go to cities because they're quirky, especially these former manufacturing places... Worcester has come a long way, but I would not lose that identity."  Michael DiPasquale

WPI Architecture Students Re-Imagine Notre Dame

Teams of WPI students present their ideas for creative reuse of Notre Dame des Canadiens Church.  The church could be an art museum, a Quincy Market type of project. 

Woodland Academy School Route Clean-up Walk

Worcester City Hall: A Palace For the People

Marilyn Polito, docent for Preservation Worcester, led a half an hour flash tour during the lunch hour on Wednesday, May 3rd.  

A Taste of C.H.I.P. (A Community Health Walk)

Dr. Mattie Castiel and Dr. Michael Hirsch led a walk to highlight all the ways Worcester is becoming the healthiest city in the country. #healthy2020

Starting off with Yoga at the Common

We got cool t-shirts!

We got fresh produce from the REC mobile market

A Walk for All

People walked.  People strolled their babies.  People biked the route.

We learned about ACE (African Community Education)

We found hidden pocket parks!

Earn-A-Bike at Stone Soup

A Hydroponic Greenhouse at Stone Soup

We learned about growing a locally based food economy and the role of this worker coop at Stone Soupl

Home Depot Builds Us A Pop-Up Parklet

Worcester Vocational Students Baked the Jane Cake

Setting up the Parklet

Thursday, May 4th, We pop up a parklet in front of Deadhorse Hill on North Main in two on-street parking spaces

Old Historic Photos of North Main Street

Thanks to Worcester Historical Museum, we were able to display old photos when North Main was hopping!

Parklet is Ready and Waiting for a Party!

Building Your Own Ideal City

Betsy Loring, Director of Exhibits at EcoTarium brought magnets and trays from the City Science exhibit to the parklet.

Happy 101st Birthday, Jane Jacobs

Nancy McBride, niece of Jane Jacobs and State Senator Mary Keefe cut the Jane cake.

Worcester Wall to Wall

A community art walk with POW! WOW! Worcester featuring the stories of the downtown murals

Worcester's Famous Ghost Tour

12 hardy souls braved the rain to come and meet the ghosts of Worcester's past

Meet Jonas Rice (1672 - 1753)

Esther Howland Made the First Valentines

Abby Kelley Foster Came Back to Life in City Hall

Isaiah Thomas Read the Declaration of Independence

Thank you, Worcester Historical Museum for the Haunting!

Una Passaggiata: A Stroll Down Shrewsbury Street

Thanks to Marilyn Polito and Francis DeNicola, Preservation Worcester Docents.  We began at Union Station.

Kilby-Gardner-Hammond: Community Driven Revitalization in Main South

Casey Starr shows us "before" slides of the area prior to redevelopment

Outdoor seating facing the sidewalk.. a bit of Jane Jacobs' eyes on the street on South Main

The Importance of Trees for Great Streets

A Juxtaposition of Two Development Projects

Two projects standing side by side.  Which one promotes active street life?  What are some differences between the two?

Solar Panels on a CDC Built Property

Bike Paths Provide Connectivity

Can We Please Re-Use This Industrial Property?

Mills Converted to Housing

Healthy Neighborhoods Have Churches

Religion and Radicals:Revisiting the Jewish East Side

Mullen Sawyer, Director of the Oak Hill CDC, invited the tour into their buiding, the former Samuel Wolfson residence

City Councilor Moe Bergman is our tour leader

Former Site of the Neighborhood Mikvah

Former Shaarai Torah East

now converted to condo units

Frescoes on the women's balcony still grace the walls

Some of the Condo Owners Let Us Enter Their Units

Where Famous Anarchist Emma Goldman Once Served Ice Cream

Hiking the East-West Trail at Newton Hill

Thanks to Ruth Seward, Worcester Tree Initiative and Stacy Hill, Friends of Newton Hill

The Canal District, Past, Present and Future: Water Powered

Thanks to John Giangregorio and JoAnn Mills for leading a tour of the Canal District

Dino and Robin Lorusso Accept the 2017 Jane Award On Behalf of Crompton Place

At the pop-up parklet on May 4, 2017, Nancy McBride shares some stories of her aunt, Jane Jacobs before cutting the Jane cake.

Jane Jacobs in the Woo would like to thank our sponsors:  the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, Home Depot, Polar Beverages and Table Talk Pies as well as our partners: Preservation Worcester, WalkBike Worcester, Worcester Historical Museum, Mass Audubon, Worcester Tree Initiative, Action Worcester, Worcester Sun, Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance and the Worcester Regional Research Bureau.