Whose Canal District?

On a chilly Tuesday in November, Dr. Murphy’s Public Policy and Cultural Diversity class met at Baystate Cafe and Market on Water Street in Worcester’s Canal District. The objective for the day was for students to wander around the neighborhood taking note of representations of different types of diversity in the built environment that have been discussed in the class - ethnicity, race, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status etc. They explored the neighborhood taking photos of store fronts, signs, murals, holiday decorations, advertisements, pavement, sidewalks, buildings, and architectural styles. Afterwards, the class reconvened at Baystate Cafe and Market for some Middle Eastern snacks and sweets as they reviewed their photos and engaged in a discussion of how diversity takes shape in the Canal District's built environment. The class considered which specific groups of Worcester’s residents are visibly represented, which groups appear to be less represented or not represented at all, and some preliminary ideas about why this might be the case given what they know about the development projects that have taken place in the neighborhood over the past 5 years. This resulted in a discussion about who this neighborhood seems to be for and who it is not for.