Jane’s Walk is a global festival of free neighbourhood walking tours held in Calgary and around the world each May.
Inspired by writer and activist Jane Jacobs, Jane’s Walk encourages a wide range of people to design and lead a walking tour of an area they know well. Elementary school students, seniors’ clubs, architects, refugee support agencies, artists, urban planners, Indigenous educators, ecologists, and people who make their living through bottle picking have all led Jane’s Walks in Calgary. Walks draw from a huge diversity of local interests and knowledge.
Some Jane’s Walks are designed to explore a theme (wildlife in the city, climate change resiliency, street safety, feminist history, public art, and so on). Others simply aim to shine a little light on a favourite neighbourhood. In either case, Jane’s Walks are fun, free, and informative and depend entirely on volunteers.