Vanier residents who are enthusiastic about learning about our community, its history and its future, joined what has become known as “Jane’s Walk” recently and explored Montreal Road through a free walking tour. Last year, 3,000 people joined one of more than 60 free walking tours celebrating the work of late urban thinker Jane Jacobs. Jane was a writer and activist who studied how cities work, how they grow and change. Her work helped define what makes cities livable, how to promote street-life vitality and how to design attractive, uplifting places where people feel safe. Jane’s Walk is a pedestrian-focused event that improves urban literacy by offering insights into planning, design, local history, and civic engagement through the simple acts of walking, observing, and discussing.
A typical Jane’s Walk tour is given once during the weekend, takes about an hour, and covers around one to two kilometres.
“We chose to have our Jane’s Walk starting at the corner of Montreal Road and North River Road and we headed East. With the Montreal Road Revitalization starting this summer we believed this was the perfect opportunity to share some information on what this will entail,” said Lauren Touchant of the Vanier Community Association.
Originally published in the June 2019 print edition of Perspectives Vanier, pg. 14.
Illustration: Vanier BIA