Newmarket resident Sarah Nguyen said activist Jane Jacobs is an inspiration to her.
Jacobs was a Toronto-based writer and activist who pushed for a community-based approach to city planning and impacted the sector with her ideas. Nguyen, a recent urban studies graduate, said she wanted to bring the international walk dedicated to Jacobs.
“I thought it was a great opportunity to engage with the community, know your neighbours through walking tours,” she said. “I wanted to bring that to Newmarket, to kind of encourage people to observe, reflect, share and question and re-imagine their neighhbourhood.”
Jane’s Walk is planned to go ahead on the first weekend of May, concurrent with walks across the world. The free, community-based event series encourages you to take guided walks throughout your neighbourhood in groups to share ideas, tell stories and discover unseen aspects of your communities.
Nguyen is the local organizer, along with fellow recent graduate Anastasiia Smirnova. She said the walk is a good way to get out amidst the pandemic.
“To be able to bring this to Newmarket after a break with COVID-19, is really refreshing,” she said. “It would be great to network with people and be able to know the residents of Newmarket and how they perceive the town.”
The event started in 2007 by Jacobs's friends following her death. It has carried on in locales around the world but has yet to be run in Newmarket before this year.
Nguyen said details are still getting finalized as far as when Newmarket’s walks would take place between May 6 and 8. They are looking for local walk leaders to take part.
“Anyone can lead a Jane’s Walk because everyone is an expert in the places they live, work and play,” Nguyen said.
You can sign up to lead a walk here.
“It’s a great opportunity to engage with the community,” she said. “To know your neighbours. These walks are not lectures, they are to promote dialogue.”
