As I See It: The time for design review is now in Worcester

Full and original article posted on Telegram.com

Want to explore some fun places on a weekend? Some destinations might collectively come to mind. Downtown Northampton, the North End of Boston, Newburyport on the Massachusetts coast and Portland, Maine, to name a few, are all examples of happening places that follow the four-part recipe urban theorist Jane Jacobs described for building vibrant neighborhoods.

The listed ingredients include high density, short blocks, mixed uses and the creative reuse of old buildings. In short, all these destinations have great buildings and streets that create an overall urban fabric resulting in active street life.

There is a strong demand and even hunger for vibrant, people-centric streets, sidewalks and public spaces. In this current time of renaissance, Worcester is in a good position to be discriminating, strategic and visionary in giving approval to the kind of developments that will create these kinds of livable and walkable urban places (walk-UPS).

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