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Jane’s Walk
Q&A with Jane Farrow, Director
Jane Jacobs would have been proud. In 2009, 10,000 people walked through 263 neighbourhoods in 24 towns and cities across North America. Starting in 2007 the walks have quickly built momentum and are often led by locals artists, activists, poets, mayors, and historians. Jane’s Walk, named in her honour, maintains her grassroots approach to urban design, "No one can find what will work for our cities by looking at them…you’ve got to get out and walk"
The Centre for City Ecology (CCE), which runs Jane’s Walk, is a think tank influenced by the writings of renowned urbanist Jane Jacobs. It seeks to encourage walkable neighbourhoods, urban literacy and cities planned for people.
Tides Canada provides the operating infrastructure for the CCE, which minimizes its day-to-day financial, legal and administrative details
How did the Centre for City Ecology start?
The Centre is the brainchild of Margie Zeidler and Mary Rowe, two close friends and colleagues of Jane Jacobs. The Centre organizes Jane’s Walks across the country, and partners with others around the world, but that’s not all. In partnership with University of Toronto we have launched walkability studies in the inner suburbs of Toronto and we are creating a Walkability Took Kit on our website that can be used by anyone interested in doing an environmental audit in their neighbourhood.
Why do you personally care about how cities evolve?
For a long time, I was involved with a neighbourhood organization advocating sustainable development in an area of Toronto where there were a lot of conflicting ideas. We lost a lot of heated battles. This made me want to dig in and help the community have more say in how their neighbourhoods develop and change.
What do you want people to see on Jane’s Walks?
I want people to get out there and explore their city and places they live. I want people to get out and embrace the joy of walking, whether that’s hurrying home from work, strolling to the store for a quart of milk, meandering through alleyways and green spaces, or just heading out for a neighbourhood they’ve never visited and taking the time to lose themselves in discovery.
Why is urban literacy an issue for you?
Because people should have greater influence on how their cities and neighbourhoods are shaped and used. Urban literacy is about understanding how cities work, how we can engage with local government, planners, institutions and each other to make our cities more livable and sustainable.
View photos from Jane’s Walk 2009. Learn more about Jane’s Walk.
Note: The Centre for City Ecology has changed its name to Jane’s Walk.
