Regina, SK – May 6, 2009 – On May 2 and 3, Regina residents took to the streets to listen, learn, and share about their neighbourhoods. Over 400 people came out to explore their collective history, architecture, planning, and personalities through the free neighbourhood walking tours.

Celebrating the legacy of Jane Jacobs, the foremost urban thinker of our times, the Jane’s Walks inspire citizens to see how people live, work, and play in their built environment to help shape their communities.

This year’s walks covered nine Regina neighbourhoods including Downtown, the Core, Whitmore Park, North Central, Germantown, Crescents, Centre Block, Cathedral, and the Warehouse District. The 11 volunteer tour guides did an amazing job at sharing historical and personal stories to help bridge social and geographic gaps and create a space for Regina to discover itself.

Response to the walks has been overwhelmingly positive:

“This event made a substantial contribution to our sense of the possible in the city and I found the whole thing very inspiring.”

“It’s such a pleasant way to learn all kinds of interesting information about the city.”

“I had the opportunity to take part in two of the walks and both were absolutely fabulous and very interesting to say the least.”

“Although I walk through the area on my way to work, it was fun to remember our student days of almost twenty years ago!”

“The guides were great and the program was really well done. I look forward to next year!”

“I know this will be something that will continue in our city and I certainly plan on taking part again!”

Jane Jacobs’ believed that walkable, diverse and mixed used neighborhoods are the hallmark of a healthy city and citizenry. This year, Regina joined other cities across the world in celebrating this vision.

Regina’s Jane’s Walk is grateful for the support of our exclusive radio sponsor, CBC Saskatchewan, as well as our community partners, Regina Ecoliving, Inner Circle Management, and The Great Excursions Company.

We also extend a big “thank you” to everyone who came out to take part in this exciting event!

To join a mailing list for details of future Jane’s Walks, please email: janeswalkregina@gmail.com

About Jane Jacobs

Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was an urbanist and activist whose writings championed a fresh, community-based approach to city building. She had no formal training as a planner, and yet her 1961 best-seller, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, introduced ground-breaking ideas about how cities function, evolve and fail that are now common sense to today’s architects, planners, politicians and activists. Foremost is her simple yet revolutionary idea that dense, mixed use neighborhoods are the key to the health and survival of a city.

Contact: Laura Pfeifer

Regina Jane’s Walk Organizer

janeswalkregina@gmail.com