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Jane’s Walk ’24

We already have 12 walks posted on our Join a Walk page for May 3, 4, and 5. 

And, join us on April 18 at 7 p.m. at Remai Modern for the film Motherless Brooklyn. 

This movie is adapted from a detective novel by Edward Norton, who also produces, directs, and stars in this 2019 neo-noir crime film. 

Motherless Brooklyn is considered in many ways to be as much an adaptation of Robert Caro’s The Power Broker, as an adaptation of Jonathan Lethem’s detective novel. Norton adds characters such as Moses Randolph, played by Alec Baldwin, who is based on the controversial NYC urban planner Robert Moses. Norton also drew inspiration from Jane Jacobs, a prominent critic of housing discrimination during the 50 and 60s. Cherry Jones plays Gabby Horowitz, a community activist in the mold of Greenwich Village crusader Jane Jacobs. Other notable actors in this film include Bruce Willis and Willem Defoe.

 This year is the 50th anniversary of the publication of the biography, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York. Moses designed and implemented dozens of highways and bridges, sometimes at great cost to the communities he nominally served. The book has been highly influential on city planners and politicians and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1975.

 The podcast 99 Percent Invisible is hosting the Power Broker Book Club for this entire year claiming, “This massive book is about 1200 pages long and is perhaps the most important and complete explanation of how cities are formed, how neighbourhoods are destroyed, bridges are erected, roads are laid down, parks are designed, fortunes are made, lives are ruined, and power is amassed.”

 Author Robert Caro has said that he was heavily influenced by Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities, but there is no mention of Jane Jacobs in The Power Broker. Robert Caro’s wife, who typed the original manuscript, reported that there was a wonderful chapter on Jane Jacobs, but when the book was submitted to the publisher it had to be cut by a third. Several chapters covering the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Port Authority, and Jane Jacobs stopping the Lower Manhattan Expressway were cut. Knopf sent Jacobs advance copies of The Power Broker and she wrote a blurb for the book.

See you at Jane’s Walk ’24


Jane’s Walk weekend starts Friday May 5!

We have over 20 walks lined up for Jane’s Walk 2023 and they are on offer Friday, Saturday May 6 and Sunday May 7.

Participate in as many walks as you like.

A couple of walks have been added recently: W.W. Ashley Storm Water Retention Pond (on Friday afternoon) and Saskatoon Farmer’s Market Since 1975 (on Saturday morning). Others on the list include The Weir: Past, Present, and Future, Broadway’s Second Street, Exploring the Small Swale-Saskatoon’s Hidden Ecological Gem, and many more.

The walks are free and no pre-registration is required; simply show up at the walk location about ten minutes before the start time and gather where you see someone carrying a Jane’s Walk sign.  

The walks will proceed rain or shine. All of the walk information is listed here.

We hope to see you there! Please share this with anyone else who may be interested. 

A big thank you to our 2023 sponsors: Broadway Business Improvement District, Downtown Business Improvement District, Design Council of Saskatchewan, and Saskatchewan Professional Planners Institute. 


Jane’s Walk 2023: May 5, 6, and 7

The sun is higher in the sky, the days are getting longer, and snow is melting which means spring is on its way.  It also means that Jane’s Walk 2023 is coming soon!

We look forward to seeing you at the walks on offer this year during the Jane’s Walk weekend (May 5, 6, and 7). The walks are free and you can participate in as many as you like. Simply show up at the starting point of the walk at the scheduled time. The walks will go ahead rain or shine. You will be joining thousands of people in cities around the world who gather on the first weekend in May for walks to commemorate Jane Jacobs and her legacy.

Twelve in-person walks and two virtual walks have already been posted on our Join a Walk page by volunteer walk leaders who want to share what they know and love about Saskatoon, or their neighborhood. In-person walks include Urban Reserves in our Backyard, The Weir: Past, Present, and Future, Ghost Walk at the University of Saskatchewan.

More walks will be added and we welcome yours!  Anyone can lead a Jane’s Walk because, as Jane Jacobs said, everyone is an expert on the places in which they live, work, and play. Visit our Lead a Walk page for more information and post your walk by April 30.

To kick-off Jane’s Walk 2023, we are partnering with Remai Modern in showing the movie Some Kind of Heaven, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 20. Admission is free. You might win the door prize:  A copy of the children’s book, Walking in the City with Jane: A story of Jane Jacobs by Susan Hughes.

Do not hesitate to contact us at janeswalksaskatoon@gmail.com if you have any questions about leading or participating in a walk.

A big thank you to our 2023 sponsors: Broadway Business Improvement District, Downtown Saskatoon Business Improvement District, Design Council of Saskatchewan, and Saskatchewan Professional Planners Institute.