General Questions
What is a Jane Jacobs Walk?
A Jane Jacobs Walk (previously known as Jane’s Walk USA) is a free neighborhood walking, biking, and/or transit tour that celebrates and investigates the people and places that make a city great. For more information, visit our Go On a Jane Jacobs Walk page.
What is the difference between a Jane’s Walk and a Jane Jacobs Walk?
There is really no difference between a Jane Jacobs Walk and a Jane’s Walk. Jane Jacobs Walk is a program of the Center for the Living City, a U.S. based non-profit organization. Our sister organization in Canada, the Centre for City Ecology (CCE) created Jane's Walks in 2007 and we helped them promote walks in the U.S. during the early years.
Our Jane Jacobs Walk program utilizes student interns to manage all aspects of the program, gaining vital skills in community outreach, organizational development and communications. We want to make certain students learn about the important contributions of Jane Jacobs to the field of planning, and therefore use her full name in describing our walks.
Jane Jacobs Walks are promoted to take place any day of the year and are also celebrated during Jane's birthday in May. Jane's Walks take place the first week of May.
Who participates in Jane Jacobs Walks?
Anyone who enjoys getting to know their city and neighbors.
People who want to participate in meaningful conversations about the social and built future of their neighborhoods.
People engaged in the work of building cohesive communities and improving the walking environment.
People who want to change their cities and neighborhoods, for example to narrow the gap between the haves and have-nots in our cities and towns.
Youth and children who experience the impact of current transportation choices disproportionately, but who are rarely consulted on their aspirations for walking or cycling.
Are Jane Jacobs Walks free?
Yes. All Walks are free and open to the public. Specific information about accessibility will be posted on each Event Page.
How do I get involved/volunteer with Jane Jacobs Walk?
If you are interested in getting involved with Jane Jacobs Walk, please send an email to info@janejacobswalk.org with inquiries.
Who is Jane Jacobs?
Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was an urbanist and activist whose writings championed a fresh, community-based approach to city building. She had no formal training as a planner, and yet her 1961 treatise, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, introduced ground-breaking ideas about how cities function, evolve and fail, that now seem like common sense to generations of architects, planners, politicians and activists.You can read more about Jacobs on our Who was Jane Jacobs page.
What is the Center for the Living City?
In 2005, in collaboration with Jane Jacobs, a small group of accomplished urbanists founded The Center for the Living City to build on Ms. Jacobs’ work. The Center’s purpose is to enhance the understanding of the complexity of contemporary urban life and through it, promote increased civic engagement among people who care deeply for their communities. The Center’s programming includes publishing What We See: Advancing the Observations of Jane Jacobs and Urban Acupuncture and sponsoring Jane Jacobs Walk. The Center for the Living City also sponsors symposia, exhibitions, fellowships, workshops and other community events.
For more information about the Center for the Living City, please visit: www.centerforthelivingcity.org
Who do I contact about making changes to my Jane Jacobs Walk event page?
Please email info@janejacobswalk.org or your assigned outreach coordinator for changes to your event.
My organization is interested in becoming a partner. What do we do?
If your organization is interested in partnering with Jane Jacobs Walk, please email our team at info@janejacobswalk.org.
Event and Hosting Questions
I would like to go on a Jane Jacobs Walk. How do I find one in my area?
If you would like to join a Jane Jacobs Walk event in your area, you may search for events under our Events page, and navigate to the current (or future) year’s events. If there are no events in scheduled in your area, we encourage you to Host a Walk.
How do I host a Jane Jacobs Walk?
Anyone can host a Jane Jacobs Walk. All of our events are led by volunteers, either individuals or organizations, who have a passion for the places in which they live, work, and play. We recommend you register your walk at this link so that we can provide you resources and event advertising from our website. Also, take a look at the information on our Host a Jane Jacobs Walk page for more specific answers related to hosting a walk.
How do I register my Walk?
You will need to fill out this form.
If I want to make a change on my registered Walk, who do I contact?
If you have already registered your Walk event, but need to correct or change information afterwards, please email our Jane Jacobs Walk team at info@janejacobswalk.org with the outdated/incorrect information and the information it needs to be changed to.
I’ve committed to hosting a Jane Jacobs Walk, how do I get my community involved?
First, if you haven’t already, consider registering your walk here. Also, you may download the flyers and other documents we’ve provided for hosts on our Host a Jane Jacobs Walk page. You can fill in these flyers with your event’s information and post them in areas around your Walk path, or wherever you think interested people might gather. Also, by registering your event, we will be able to create an event page specific to your walk, so that other interested people in your area can easily find the details. Beyond that, consider attending community organization meetings such as Community Council or Chamber of Commerce meetings to find like-minded individuals who wish to participate in your event.
How do I create a map for my event?
We recommend all Walk hosts create a Google My Map of their Walk plan to include with their event registration. To view a tutorial on how to create a google My Map, please click here. For more detailed information, please see the Event Registration for Hosts page.
How do I publicize my Jane Jacobs Walk?
The easiest way to publicize your Walk event is to register your walk. When you register, the Jane Jacobs Walk Team will be able to create an event page specific to your Walk. You can also download flyers to personalize under our Host a Jane Jacobs Walk page. Also consider creating an event with Facebook, posting the flyers in community gathering places, or contacting your local media.
How do I get inspiration for my walk theme?
First, look to your neighborhood. Find the places that excite, inspire, or trouble you. Find places that will spark a conversation, and build your walk to incorporate these places. Then, if you would like more ideas, check out our Events page to see what people have done in their communities in previous years.
How do I encourage dialogue during my event?
A Jane Jacobs Walk should be a walking conversation. To start that conversation, sometimes it’s helpful to have some of the history of the area covered by your Walk or knowledge of current issues facing the area. But the place itself--the buildings, streets, and vegetation-- are worth talking about too. Have some thoughts on guiding the conversation, but be ready to allow that conversation to evolve on its own.
I have hosted a Jane Jacobs Walk, and would like to share my photos and experience. Who do I contact?
We would love to hear about your experience hosting or experiencing a Jane Jacobs Walk in your community, and share these with the Jane Jacobs Walk. Please email your thoughts and photos to the Jane Jacobs Walk Team at info@janejacobswalk.org. In the email, please indicate the photography credits for any photographs (especially if the photographer was someone other than you).
Social Media: Share your photos with us! Twitter: @janejacobswalk #janejacobswalk | Instagram: #janejacobswalk | Facebook: Jane Jacobs Walk
