Jane's Walk tours bring citizens together

Residents of Saskatoon, Regina and Swift Current can participate in a Jane's Walk this weekend.

The goal of the walking tour is to have neighbours connect and learn about their community and its history. The tours honour urban activist Jane Jacobs.

In Saskatoon, one of the tours featured a walk through Riversdale with former Saskatoon police officer Ernie Louttit providing commentary and leading a discussion about housing dilapidation and rejuvenation.

"This is pretty pertinent for Riversdale," Cathy Watts, from Jane's Walk Saskatoon, said. "This is kind of what's happening in this area. So they're going to teach us about what happens. How does a house get boarded up and who's responsible for that? And who are some of the landlords who are doing a really good job?"

The concept began in 2007 and has grown to include cities around the world. The dates for the tours are set to be on the weekend nearest Jane Jacobs' birthday. Jacobs was an advocate for the interests of local residents and pedestrians over a car-centred approach to community planning.

"It's a learning opportunity," Watts added. "It's not meant to be a lecture format. It's really meant to be very organic."

All the tours are free.

• EXTERNAL LINK: Jane's Walk

• Descriptions of Saskatoon's 2015 Jane's Walks