Jane Jacobs' Spirit Lives Through Jane's Walk

Jane's Walk is coming to a neighbourhood near you. Soon. This year, on May 2 and 3, Think City, with the support of the CBC and the Georgia Straight, will once again host the Vancouver leg of this growing North American event. So far a total of 17 Canadian and five American cities and towns are participating in Jane's Walks in order to celebrate the life and legacy of the great urban thinker and activist Jane Jacobs.

Jane Jacobs regarded cities as ecosystems and it was through this lens that she developed her ground-breaking ideas about how cities function, how important the voices of local residents are to the development of neighbourhoods and community, and how the success of a city is based on how it is used by its people. As Jacobs firmly stated in Downtown is for the People "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."

Last May, over 600 people participated in 30 walks in neighbourhoods all over Vancouver. Each walk was hosted by a citizen who donated their time to bring stories, history and awareness to their place in our city. The walks were greeted with overwhelming enthusiasm on the part of Vancouverites, with many people attending multiple walks over the two days, despite the rain.

Momentum is building for this year's Jane's Walk. On March 19, Think City hosted Vancouver Stories, a fundraiser for Jane's Walk. The event was a terrific success. Over 130 people turned out to listen to the stories told about our city and we raised $8,500. Thanks to everyone who came out. Your support will ensure that this year Jane's Walk will be even more successful!

Many of our hosts from last year are returning this year including favourites such as John Atkin, Bruce MacDonald and Gordon Price and new walks have been added including Michael Barnholden's Riots, Homelessness and Baseball tour as well as Molly Winston's Jewish heritage tour of Strathcona.

Jane's Walk is a simple idea. It is free, it connects people and builds communities by promoting urban literacy and citizen engagement. If you are interested in hosting a tour visit here and check the website after April 10 to begin signing up for tours. Walks fill up quickly so don't miss out!