Montrealers are taking part in dozens of free guided walking tours around the city this weekend, part of a worldwide effort to help people get in touch with their cities.
An annual event, Jane’s Walk tours focus on the design and history of cities. They are inspired by author and urbanist Jane Jacobs.
Jacobs’ groundbreaking book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, has been a bible for generations of architects, urban planners, politicians and activists who believe cities can and should be livable and sustainable.
Jacobs believed that cities could survive and thrive only if they developed according to the needs of local residents, and that they should be designed to include densely populated, mixed-use neighbourhoods rather than downtowns that were only workplaces that emptied out to bedroom communities in the suburbs every night.
Jacobs, who died in 2006, would have turned 100 this year.
In Montreal, the volunteer-led walks are organized by the Urban Ecology Centre.
Visit the centre’s website for a list and map of the walks.
