Saturday & Sunday, May 7 & 8
Is there something about Ottawa that is important to you? Consider leading a walk to share it with your neighbours. Jane's Walk gives us all a chance to find out more about our city. To register a walk, click on Submit a Walk.2016 is the tenth anniversary of the first Jane's Walk, held in Toronto, 2007, and would have marked Jane Jacobs' 100th birthday.
Amber Westfall, leading her walk on Urban Foraging, 2015
The Movement for Safer, More Livable Streets
Here's an excellent warm-up for Jane's Walk: Janette Sadik-Khan, former Transportation Commissioner of New York City and co-author of Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution, will be in Ottawa to talk about how her efforts to re-imagine public spaces helped transform the streets New York – one of the world's greatest, toughest cities – into dynamic spaces for pedestrians and cyclists.As Transportation Commissioner, Sadik-Khan implemented an ambitious program to improve street safety, mobility, and sustainability throughout New York City. To help Ottawa accelerate our own urban revolution for people-centred street design, Sadik-Khan will share tips on how to rethink, reinvigorate, and redesign our city for safer, more livable streets. Her book Streetfight will be available for purchase and signing.
Event details: Date: Wednesday, April 27 Time: Reception: 6:00 pm, Talk: 7:00 pm Place: Horticulture Building, Landsdowne Park 1525 Princess Patricia Way
Admission is free, but RSVP is required. The RSVP site will be working any minute now, here.
What is Jane's Walk?
Jane's Walk is a weekend festival of free neighbourhood walking tours led by locals who care passionately about where they live, work and play. Jane's Walk is a pedestrian-focused event that improves urban literacy by offering insights into local history, planning, design, and civic engagement through the simple act of walking and observing. more"No one can find out what will work for our cities by looking at garden suburbs, manipulating scale models, or inventing dream cities. You've got to get out and walk. — Jane Jacobs, "Downtown is for People", The Exploding Metropolis, 1957.
"I like walking because in cars you can't see very much and can't get a close look at things. When you walk, you can say 'stop' and then look."
— Jane's Walk participant S.B., age 6.
Apt613 walk in Hintonburg, 2012.
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