Jane's Walks this Weekend
I keep forgetting about these walks, and then I find out about them at the last minute. Jane's Walks are neighbourhood tours held on the first weekend in May. Although there are a lot of them happening this weekend, I do not feel they are well-known, so I thought I would boost the signal.
Jane's Walks are named in honor of Jane Jacobs, who wrote a bunch of books about urban design, including the famous (and quite readable) The Death and Life of Great American Cities.
I have gone on Jane's Walks for a couple of years now, and other than getting sunburned (which I have regretted a lot) I have not regretted the experience. Even the boring ones are opportunities to walk around outside.
Often the tours involve history. Sometimes they involve advocacy. Sometimes they are really informative, and sometimes they are boring and preachy. Sticking with historical walks is a safe bet, but there are only so many times you want to hear about why there's an empty pedestal at Victoria Park. Sometimes I choose walks expecting to be bored but instead am pleasantly surprised, as I was by a tour of local churches last year.
If you have not gone on any tours I recommend you try a couple out. Thre are a bunch to choose from throughout the region:
- http://janeswalk.org/canada/cambridge
- http://janeswalk.org/canada/kitchener
- http://janeswalk.org/canada/waterloo
I have not attended the Mount Hope Cemetary one, but I have heard that it has been good in past years, and I might try it this year. I am also interested in the Lakeshore suburbs walk on Sunday. Other than that I do not know what to attend. A lot of the walks are being held at the same time on Sunday afternoon, which is a shame.