In Honor of Jane Jacobs, Take a Walk This Weekend
This weekend marks the sixth annual set of Jane's Walks, walking tours about urban history and planning held in honor of the patron saint of 20th century urbanism, Jane Jacobs. In New York, the Municipal Art Society has catalogued more than 70 tours, all of them free, in all five boroughs. In most cases, there's no RSVP required.
By
Noah Kazis
4:17 PM EDT on May 4, 2012
This weekend marks the sixth annual set of Jane’s Walks, walking tours about urban history and planning held in honor of the patron saint of 20th century urbanism, Jane Jacobs. In New York, the Municipal Art Society has catalogued more than 70 tours, all of them free, in all five boroughs. In most cases, there’s no RSVP required.
The selection is great (really, go check out the full list), but here’s a sample of walks that should appeal in particular to Streetsblog readers:
- Manhattan West Public Space Icons: From Times Square to the High Line, look at the urban design transformations taking place on Manhattan’s West Side. This tour will also look at protected bike lanes, pedestrian plazas and transit corridors. Saturday, 8:15 a.m.
- Brownsville Brooklyn: The Brownsville Partnership is doing incredibly innovative work on restoring the pedestrian environment, encouraging mixed-use development, and boosting bike and pedestrian safety around Brownsville’s many super-blocks. The group leads a tour of their neighborhood. Saturday, 10:00 a.m.
- New Dorp, Staten Island: Possibilities for Walkability and Transit in a Railway ‘New Village’: Learn about how Staten Island’s old town centers and railway stations can form the backbone of a more urban borough. Saturday, 11:00 a.m.
- Complete Streets (r)Evolution: Jackson Heights and Elmhurst in Queens: See how safe streets and new public spaces are coming to two of New York’s most vibrant, immigrant-friendly neighborhoods. Saturday, 11:30 a.m.
- Eyes on Brooklyn Heights: Market Urbanism contributor Sandy Ikeda leads this tour showing how Brooklyn Heights exemplifies Jane Jacobs’ ideas about urban development. A Market Urbanism meet-up will follow. Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
- The World’s Most Talked-About Bike Lane & The (Former) Home of the Death-o-Meter: More of a Jane’s Bike, this family-friendly ride looks at the new Prospect Park West bike lane and the changes to Grand Army Plaza. Sunday, 12:00 p.m.
Go check out the full list for more walks, including those more focused on history, architecture and preservation. See you there.
Noah joined Streetsblog as a New York City reporter at the start of 2010. When he was a kid, he collected subway paraphernalia in a Vignelli-map shoebox.
Before coming to Streetsblog, he blogged at TheCityFix DC and worked as a field organizer for the Obama campaign in Toledo, Ohio. Noah graduated from Yale University, where he wrote his senior thesis on the class politics of transportation reform in New York City. He lives in Morningside Heights.
Read More:
More from Streetsblog New York City
Mamdani Administration Backs ‘Delivery Protection’ Law Opposed By Amazon-Backed Coalition
Amazon-backed groups bused dozens of people to City Hall to fight a Mamdani-backed proposal to regulate the e-commerce wild west.
April 10, 2026
POL PLOT: Hochul’s Insurance Plan Is A Statewide Head-Scratcher
"I think if you are injured through negligence, you should be able to seek justice at all costs," said one state Senator.
April 10, 2026
Tribeca Residents Want To Swap Parking for A Plaza at Underused Barnett Newman Triangle
Council Member Chris Marte is backing a local push to transform Barnett Newman Triangle from a sad concrete island into a lush urban oasis.
April 10, 2026
Friday’s Headlines: The Streetsblog Block Party (Canceled!) Edition
The World Cup is getting in the way of Streetsblog's attempts to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Plus the news.
April 10, 2026
‘Predictable’: Manhattan Mom Struck by Driving Scofflaw Wants Known Super Speeders off the Road
Another crash shows how little the political class wants to get reckless drivers off the road.
April 9, 2026
Comments Are Temporarily Disabled
Streetsblog is in the process of migrating our commenting system. During this transition, commenting is temporarily unavailable.
Once the migration is complete, you will be able to log back in and will have full access to your comment history. We appreciate your patience and look forward to having you back in the conversation soon.