[amor de cosmos]

I think I would have turned out if I'd known about it sooner. I think I've unwittingly done my own Jane's walks for a while now though. the cbc clip says a city looks a lot different when moving at a walking pace rather than at 60km/h in a car. not only that, someone walking can go all kinds of places that a car can't go:

Jane’s Walk is a series of free neighbourhood walking tours that helps put people in touch with their environment and with each other, by bridging social and geographic gaps and creating a space for cities to discover themselves. Since it’s inception in 2007, Jane’s Walk has happened in twelve North American cities: Toronto, New York, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax, Guelph, Charlottetown, Thornbury, and Salt Lake City. More partner cities and towns are being added in 2009 including Montreal, Regina, Boston, Chicago and New Orleans.

Jane’s Walk honours the legacy and ideas of urban activist and writer Jane Jacobs who championed the interests of local residents and pedestrians over a car-centered approach to planning. Jane’s Walk helps knit people together into a strong and resourceful community, instilling belonging and encouraging civic leadership.

All Jane’s Walk tours are given and taken for free. These walks are led by anyone who has an interest in the neighbourhoods where they live, work or hang out. They are not always about architecture and heritage, and offer a more personal take on the local culture, the social history and the planning issues faced by the residents. Jane Jacobs believed strongly that local residents understood best how their neighbourhood works, and what is needed to strengthen and improve them. Jane’s Walks are meant to be fun, engaged and participatory - everyone’s got a story and they’re usually keen to share it

Over six thousand people took part in the 2008 Jane’s Walk . In Toronto, for instance, there were seventy four walking tours, including six student-led tours, that explored a wide range of urban landscapes, from social housing slated for redevelopment, to areas with a rich architectural and cultural heritage, to teen hangouts and secret gardens. Walks are led by both individual and small groups. Some are focussed around historical themes more than geographical areas, for instance, some strolls have been built around ideas like the history of the bicycle, gay and lesbian history, places of relevance to the homeless, the history of ‘skid row’, and urgent planning matters facing certain neighbourhoods.
http://www.janeswalk.net/what_is_janes_walk
http://www.janeswalk.net/

cbc covered it too, check it out
http://ca.video.yahoo.com/watch/4991691/13277210

[Bigtime]

My wife and I just got back from the Jane's Walk of the Ramsay neighbourhood in Calgary. It was a very cool experience and we met a lot of great people on it.

[vid]

I do Jane's Walks all by myself almost every day. It's called "I take pictures of shit all the time."

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3315/3491731605_b7fb7b8132.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vidioman/3491731605/)

Over 600 photos in the past 9 days. I wouldn't mind learning more about the buildings though. I don't know much about this one, for example.

[amor de cosmos]

I do Jane's Walks all by myself almost every day. It's called "I take pictures of shit all the time."

lol i wouldn't have called it that but i guess that's still the sort of thing I do

[M II A II R II K]

I just went on one today, Don Valley Ravine in Toronto.

[drew]

My wife and I together with some friends attended the Jane's walk for the Wolseley area here in Winnipeg. It was pretty cool. There's lot's of history in the neighbourhood I wasn't aware of.

[F. Lionel]

I do Jane's Walks all by myself almost every day. It's called "I take pictures of shit all the time."

Amen to that!

Over 600 photos in the past 9 days. I wouldn't mind learning more about the buildings though. I don't know much about this one, for example.

Is that off Simpson, backing onto Hardisty? Sorta looks familiar...

[niwell]

I always mean to go on the ones in Toronto but never do. Next one, I swear!

[SteelTown]

Jane's Walk at Westdale........

http://media.hamiltonspectator.topscms.com/images/d0/3d/991cc20e4f50a80ca8c1f4e33c95.jpeg
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/559638

[sammo]

i can't disagree with cbc -driving at 60k isn't the same as...
...driving by at 40 or 50k!!!

Is there a Jane's Drive in the works?
-for us lazy, er, 'activity challenged'? :)

[miketoronto]

I went to two.

One of my area of Toronto, Scarborough. And I have to be honest it sucked.
The guy was a downtown resident who works in Scarborough, and his tour was filled with facts that were not correct about Scarborough. In addition, he kept doing that stupid "Scarborough vs downtown" crap and how Scarborough is more "real", etc. Bugged the hell out of me, that he was trying to make us sound like this seperate bubble not connected with Toronto.
And on top of that, he said Scarborough is "Toronto's Hartford", because an office building in Scarborough Town Centre has a TD Insurance Office.
Don't think so :)

The funny thing was that he was talking about the Scarborough Walk Of Fame and how it is fine that it is in a shopping mall, and how it is stupid most people complain about that fact and say it should be on a street like the one downtown. Anyway he was saying how the one downtown is covered in snow half the year while the Scarborough one can be enjoyed at all times. And what happens after he said that? Mall security said we had to leave, as the mall was closing. I thought it was fitting to the issues we have in Scarborough City Centre :)

Now the second tour I went on of the Don Valley in Central Toronto. That was amazing. Had so much fun, the guy was very detailed, etc. Great tour.

[vid]

Is that off Simpson, backing onto Hardisty? Sorta looks familiar...

It's the back of Prospector Steakhouse in PA. I think you're thinking of that little white building backing onto the alley right near Victoria? I'm pretty sure it has circular fans on the back. I took that photo from on top of the parkade/plaza part of that office block beside the Government building.

Thunder Bay used to have "Ghost Walks", I don't know if those are going on anymore. They were held at night and focused more on supernatural events connected to parts of the city.

[habfanman]

I had planned on going on the Maisonneuve walk on Sunday. Around 1pm, I discovered that it had been held on Saturday. Oops!

[Bigtime]

I do Jane's Walks all by myself almost every day. It's called "I take pictures of shit all the time."

lol i wouldn't have called it that but i guess that's still the sort of thing I do

While these examples are very true for many of us on here I felt like the Jane's walk offered something different.

You had a chance to not only walk around an area and find out more about it, but you also had an opportunity to interact with people interested in it as well.

On our walk my wife and I got to meet a lot of new people, many of whom called the community home. We learned about what they love, like, and don't like about their community (we even got an invite to a summer BBQ in a few months!). It added a human element that I think we miss sometimes when we are just walking around somewhere taking pictures.

At the end of the walk many of us grabbed a coffee at the local shop and proceeded to sit around and discuss all sorts of matters that relate to Calgary growing "up" over these last few years.

We've marked the calendar for next year already, and we'll try and do more than one walk this time!

[vid]

Well while I am walking around I bump into people who start conversations.

Though yesterday the only people who talked to my were fat white trash kids on bikes screaming "mah baike is beddur than yers" at me. Westfort is ghetto.