Jane's Walk

Singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer
pitches in with an acapella song on
the Front Street Jane’s Walk in Toronto.

Get out and walk, jog or ride!
Jane’s Walks have included all
types of active transportation.

Ned Jacobs leads the Little Mountain Walk
in Vancouver.

Pedestrians in the suburbs often face greater obstacles and hazards in their walking environment, most commonly, multiple lanes of fast moving traffic.

Credit: Katherine Childs

“I like to walk in the neighbourhood because
I get to know people. I talk to everybody.”

Walkability Workshop Participant

“Jane’s Walk is brilliant. I learned so much, met some great neighbours, and topped it off by going to a pub together!”

Poor connectivity causes walkers to
take risks and use unsafe routes.

A chai break on the Jane’s Walk tour of Girangaon, one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Mumbai

“The youth guides were smart and funny and full of stories. We felt incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to meet them and see their ‘hood through their eyes.”

Manhattan seen from the South Bronx with Jane’s Walk guide Omar Freilla of Sustainable South Bronx.

Jane’s Walk creates friendly, thoughtful spaces where people can discover their cities and neighbours, like Dorset Park, Scarborough.

Lead a Jane’s Walk in your neighbourhood

“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.”
- Jane Jacobs, writer & urban visionary

The life and work of Jane Jacobs, a Toronto resident from 1968 until her death in 2006, continue to inspire citizens and planners to look closely at how people live, work and play in their urban environment. If there are places in your neighbourhood that you care about – then you’ve got what it takes to lead a Jane’s Walk
... Read More

Plans for Jane’s Walks 2010 underway

Jane’s Walk has become a phenomenon – it has expanded rapidly in all directions, more than doubling in size each year since it first started in Toronto in 2007. This year we are expecting Jane’s Walk to be held in 65 cities worldwide (35 in Canada, 25 in the USA) with a total of 450 walking tours on offer. We’ve heard from lots of the veteran Jane’s Walk cities across North American who say they’re keen to take the plunge again and we’ve also had contact with some new prospects in such places as Dublin (pictured above), Bilbao, Kamloops and Los Angeles ... Read More

Crossing the street may be deadly
but it’s not illegal

A tragic string of fourteen pedestrian deaths in and around Toronto in the first couple weeks of January has highlighted the perilous walking conditions people face everyday in our cities. In an attempt to lower fatalities, the Toronto police have responded with a crackdown on pedestrians, handing out hundreds of tickets to people simply making their way to and from work, shops and schools. Jane’s Walk director Jane Farrow and walkability expert Paul Hess have responded by pointing out that making cities safe for people on foot is a matter of street design and planning priorities, not criminalizing routine pedestrian behaviour ... Read More

T-Dot Love Fest

Toronto is where Jane's Walk started in 2007 and once again, we promise to bring this city to its feet. Last year, over 5,000 locals took advantage of the 117 tours on offer and got out and explored their city with gusto. From Cabbagetown and the Core to the far reaches of Scarborough and Rexdale, Jane’s Walk made it's mark as "an annual extravaganza of pedestrian urban love" (Torontoist.com).This year promises to be even better with the return of some old favourites and new adventures ... Read More