Since 2007 the annual global event, Jane’s Walk, has celebrated the life and thought of urban activist Jane Jacobs by promoting community-led walking tours in cities around the world. This year, for the first time, Eugene will join the list of cities participating in the Jane’s Walk global festival.
Worldwide, community members will lead over 600 walking tours over the course of one weekend, May 6th – 8th. Walk leaders will share personal accounts of how they see the use of public space, the historical narratives that have influenced their neighborhoods and the current trends that are shaping their cities.
Four walking tours are planned in Eugene including:
• The Lane Arts Council’s First Friday Arts Walk, led by Mayor Kitty Piercy on Friday May 6th at 5:30pm at the 5th Street Public Market;
• Downtown Place Making and Revitalization, led by Owner/Operator of The Barn Light, Thomas Pettus-Czar on Saturday May 7th at 10am at The Barn Light, downtown;
• Friendly Neighborhood Historic Walk, led by community member Andrew Fisher on Saturday May 7th at 1pm at the Washington Park Center; and
• Quiet Backs and Building Hearths, the ideas of Christopher Alexander on University of Oregon Campus, led by Campus Planner Emily Eng on Sunday May 8th at 1pm at the Dad’s Gate EmX stop.
These free, locally organized and citizen-led walking tours, will bring people together to explore, and talk about their neighborhoods and our city. Walkers will have the opportunity to celebrate what makes these places great, learn something new about Eugene and talk about ways to protect and enhance our unique community. The event is an expression of our community’s shared values of civic engagement, connected communities and healthy, walkable neighborhoods.
Everyone can attend a Jane’s Walk and all tours are free of charge. For more information visit www.janeswalk.org.