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Jane’s Walk

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To honour Jane Jacobs, who died a year ago, Mayor David Miller announced in November 2006 that May 4 would officially be “Jane Jacobs Day” in Toronto. And now we have an appropriate way to celebrate it:

Many of Jane’s peers, colleagues, friends and admirers have discussed how best to honour her legacy and have settled on the idea of “Jane’s Walk”, to reinforce her idea of walkable, dense, compact and diverse neighbourhoods as the hallmarks of a healthy city. These characteristics help knit together the people of a neighborhood into a strong and resourceful community.

The First Annual “Jane’s Walk” will take place on Saturday, May 5, 2007, in numerous locations throughout Toronto. Each walk will feature a tour guide who can speak knowledgeably about the neighbourhood, and will highlight the people, places, and public spaces that make that particular community interesting and unique. (Spacing is a partner in this new initiative).

Walk leaders include former Mayor John Sewell, storyteller and Spacing contributor Dan Yashinsky, architect and planner John Van Nostrand, Dufferin Grove Park activist Jutta Mason, and councillor Adam Vaughan, among others. But, in the spirit of Jacobs’ ideas, self-organization in part of the concept of Jane’s Walk, so everyone is encouraged to organize a walk of their own.

For information on featured walks, or to organize your own walk, please visit the Jane’s Walk website.

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One comment

  1. You’re all invited “Retracing Stop Spadina”.

    This Jane’s Walk begins where the Spadina Expressway was stopped, the three foot wide sidewalk that then Premier Bill Davis ceded to the Old City of Toronto to block Metro’s desire to complete the expressway south of Eglinton.

    “Jane’s Walk – Retracing Stop Spadina” begins at 12 noon and will head south. We will wind our way through neighbourhoods which would have been drastically reduced if not removed had the Spadina Expressway been completed all the way to downtown.

    Rest Stops along the way include:
    Forest Hill Village,
    Spadina House beside Casa Loma,
    St. Alban’s park at the top of Albany Avenue.

    Strolling through The Annex, we will arrive at Kensington Market where this Jane’s Walk will end.

    A history of the Stop Spadina controversy will be presented throughout the walk, along with stories and archive photos of each of the neighbourhoods we will be walking through.

    Meet in front of the Eglinton West Station at 12 Noon on Saturday May 5, 2007.

    ~ HiMY SYeD ~

    http://www.JaneJacobs.TYO.ca
    http://www.Torontopedia.TYO.ca/Jane's_Walk