Traveler Meet City: Join a Jane’s Walk this Weekend
False creek public art tour Vancouver JW 09 by neil monckton
From Berlin to Mumbai to Lusaka, Zambia and La Palma, Uruguay. In Saskatoon and Vancouver, the Bronx and Palm Springs – people in 67 cities from 9 countries will participate in 410 different Jane’s Walks this weekend. And this is only year three of the Jane’s Walks project.
The walks are named for urban thinker and writer Jane Jacob’s who moved to the Annex neighborhood in Toronto from New York in 1968 and lived there until her death in 2006.
Jane Jacobs became well known in the area of urban planning with her 1961 treatise The Death and Life of Great American Cities in which she wrote about how cities function, evolve and fail. She was an early advocate for local residents having input on how their neighborhoods develop. In 1957, she wrote:
“No one can find what will work for our cities by looking at … suburban garden cities, manipulating scale models, or inventing dream cities. You’ve got to get out and walk.”
Walkers on the Mumbai India Jane’s Walk take a break for chai and to ponder architecture and market stalls.
Jane’s Walks are perfect for Solo Travelers
As a solo traveler I am always looking for opportunities to learn more about a city and connect with locals. Jane’s Walks are perfect for this. They help locals connect with their neighborhoods and neighbors to connect with each other. I’m sure the occasional traveler would be welcome on the tour.
Jane’s Walks Around the World
Jane’s Walks are FREE. Whether you are traveling or at home, look to see if there is a Jane’s Walk near you by going to the Jane’s Walks Website. The US site is janeswalkusa.org. On both sites you can also find out about leading a walk in your community.
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