From April 30 to May 3, Jane’s Walk Vancouver returns with a citywide series of free, community-led walking tours that transform everyday streets into spaces of shared curiosity and conversation.
Inspired by urbanist Jane Jacobs, the annual festival is built on a simple premise: that cities are best understood not from above, but from the ground—through the stories, observations, and lived experiences of the people who move through them every day. There are no experts on a pedestal here. Instead, each walk is an open invitation to look more closely, ask questions, and reflect on the forces that shape the places we often take for granted.
This year’s program spans neighbourhoods across Vancouver, with walks exploring everything from overlooked in-between spaces and informal urban “gaps,” to layered histories embedded in places like Mole Hill and Hogan’s Alley. Some walks focus on architecture and design, others on ecology, infrastructure, or social change—but all share a common thread: a desire to make the city more legible through collective exploration.
What makes Jane’s Walk distinct is not just the diversity of topics, but its format. These are not lectures or formal tours. They are conversations in motion—fluid, participatory, and shaped as much by attendees as by the walk leaders themselves. A question asked mid-block can shift the direction of a walk. A personal story can reframe an entire street.
In a city where planning conversations are often compressed into formal hearings or technical documents, Jane’s Walk offers something quieter but no less meaningful: a space to engage the city at a human scale, alongside others who are equally curious about how it works—and how it might change.
All walks are free and open to the public, with most requiring no registration. Comfortable shoes, a bit of curiosity, and a willingness to see familiar places in new ways are all you need.
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Full schedule and details are available at: https://www.janeswalkvancouver.ca/2026-walk-schedule
