What We See

Here are two exciting ways we can participate in honoring Jane Jacobs in 2011:

The first is the annual Jane’s Walk on May 7 and 8, 2011. Jane’s Walk is a free neighborhood walking tour conducted in cities in the US, Canada, and now internationally that brings communities together to celebrate and discover each other and their surroundings. It coincides with Jane's birthday on the first weekend of May, and thousands participate each year to explore their own urban landscapes, from housing projects to richly historic areas to secret gardens. Walks are led by individuals or by groups—find out how to host a Jane’s Walk in your city.

Second, the Queen Jane Jacobs conference in Hamburg, Germany at the HafenCity University Hamburg on May 12 and 13, 2011 . This two-day academic event, sponsored by Fritz Thyssen Stiftung, will be a discussion of Jacobs' work and influence. The conference is being held to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Death and Life of American Cities. Participants include several leading scholars from around the world. The conference organizers have recently sent out a call for papers on topics such as new approaches to urban renewal and rehabilitation, biographical background on Jane Jacobs, shifting paradigms toward conservation, and Jacobs’ influence on economic theory and urban economics.