NEWS: Over 750 Crowd Sidewalks for Jane

"Seeing my neighbourhood with new eyes was enlightening!" So said one enthusiastic participant in Vancouver's second annual Jane's Walk.

Jane's Walk 2009 was held May 2 and 3 and once again it was a big success. Over 750 Vancouverites took part in this growing event that celebrates cities and communities and is inspired by the legacy of ideas left by the great urban thinker and author Jane Jacobs. Over 10,000 people participated in this event across North America, and one walk in Mumbai, India.

This year there were 27 walks in Vancouver – some buillt on walks held last year, while others included new areas, hosts and perspectives. The walks ranged all over the city, from Commercial Drive to Dunbar, the Fraser River to Lost Lagoon and many in between. The cherry blossoms were fully bursting and the weather even cooperated.

Jane's Walkers, hosts and volunteers all reported feeling inspired by the connections they made and by what they learned about their neighbourhoods and the people in them. Each walk included a wide range of issues, history and even a few surprises.

Wendy Pedersen's Downtown Eastside tour offered a view of the complicated issues of that historic neighbourhood, and was punctuated along the way by stops and meetings with many of the residents and front line workers in the neighbourhood. One participant said, "The best part of the tour was gathering perspectives not just from Wendy, but also from her friends in the Downtown Eastside."

On a Gastown walk, after waiting for a host who never did turn up, Andrea Gillman, a Think City volunteer, offered to take the patient and adventuresome Jane's Walkers around the neighbourhood offering her insider take on the area. Gillman told Think City that she "knew a little about the area, so in the spirit of Jane's Walk thought, why not?"

When Jane's Walkers on Bruce Macdonald's Mount Pleasant tour stopped outside the Western Front Building as part of their tour, Hank Bull, a co-founder of the Western Front Society – one of Canada's oldest artist-run centres – happened to be looking out his third story kitchen window having just returned from a trip to Norway and the Ukraine. He recognized the Jane's Walkers and took them inside the building. Bull then regaled them with stories of the original owners, the Knights of Pythias, and his own take on the intricacies of the turn of the century building and the importance of the Western Front to the culture of the city.

These are just a few of the adventures that took place over the two days of walks through Vancouver's neighbourhoods. Check out the pictures and tweets to get a taste of Jane's Walk 2009.

We will begin the planning for Jane's Walk 2010 again in the fall. Keep your eyes open for information on our website and in the ThinkCity Minute about upcoming Jane's Walk spin-off events. If you have any ideas about individuals or organizations who might like to host a Jane's Walk next year contact janeswalk@thinkcity.ca.

While an important principle of Jane's Walk is that the walks are provided free to Vancouverites, it does take a great deal of resources in the form of time and money to organize this event. Please make a donation to Think City to help make Jane's Walk 2010 an even bigger success. To donate visit our secure online donation area or send a cheque to the Think City Society, PO Box 65506, Stn F, Vancouver, BC V5N 5K5 or call 604-216-7246.