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LA PALOMA, URUGUAY. See walk details below.

Jane’s Walk 2010 goes international with walks in Berlin, Dublin, Madrid, Mumbai, Goa, La Paloma (Uruguay) and Lusaka (Zambia)

MADRID, SPAIN
In Madrid, the cultural association ‘falta oblicua’, are planning a walk down the Gran Via as one way of marking the 100 year anniversary of this spectacular boulevard. Lined with some of the city’s most lavish architecture, or ‘edificios’, the area retains it’s vibrancy with a lively retail sector, hotels, entertainment venues, bustling parks and public art displays.

LA PALOMA, URUGUAY
Caminata Amigos
Tour Guide: Leandro Perdomo,
This Jane’s Walk, the first in Latin America, will discuss the rapid environmental degradation occurring on the beaches as a result of the vacation homes being built on the fragile eco-system of the sand dunes. Though regulations prohibit the building of these homes, most owners (families from Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Rocha) have been able to bypass the regulations. This has had detrimental effects on the dunes themselves, and also on the tides, as it modifies the amount of sand circulating. La Paloma is also facing the proposed construction of a national deep water port. Although many locals support the project because they believe it will provide jobs, the port is likely to cause more disturbances of the natural environment. Local resident and surfer Leandro Perdomo is bringing together the community to talk about these issues, how these developments are limiting community access to the beach and how the community can work together for common interests.
Time: Sunday May 2 , 2 PM
Meeting Place: Los Botes Hacia Baconada

Jane’s Walk participants exploring Bhoot Bangala, Mumbai 2009

MUMBAI, INDIA
Tour Guides: Swati Sanghavi, Kapil Chavan
In 2009 Jane’s Walk went officially global with one walk in Mumbai’s Girangaon, Village of Mills, one of the oldest areas of the city that took walkers through still existing chaws (tennements) and local markets that continue to cater to mill workers and families. In 2010, the same host organization PUKAR (Partners in Urban Knowledge Action and Research) will be conducting a Jane’s Walk in the neighborhood of Girgaum. During colonial times many communities from around Maharashtra and Gujarat migrated to Mumbai and settled outside the Fort Walls known to be Karkhunachi Vasti (White Collared Employees Neighborhood). They worked for the British, rich Indian traders and the business class who were settled within the fort boundaries. Over the years, these communities with different backgrounds, languages and dialects, skills and knowledge created a cosmopolitan way of life that forms the very basis of city culture and values. These citizens played a prominent role in the country’s freedom struggle and were among the founding members of the Indian Independence Nationalist Movements. The fabric of the neighbourhood has changed radically in the last 60 years of independence, especially since the liberalization reforms of the 1990’s. Today this neighborhood, like many in Mumbai faces an identity crisis in the wake of globalization. During the walk, we will explore the mixed use structure of the community, the arrangement of residential areas against commercial corridors, and their correlation. We will also discuss the importance of heritage conservation as a tool for socio-economic change and its potential challenges to long term residents of urban gentrification.
Meeting Point: In front of Cawasjee Institute (popularly known as Cawasjee Tank), Opposite Metro Theatre, Dhobi Talao, Mumbai
Date: Sunday May 2
Time: 4:30pm
Duration: 120 mins
Closest Transit Stations: Marine Lines on the Western Railway and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) on the Central Railway

GOA, INDIA
This year, a Jane’s Walk will be offered in Goa by PUKAR as well. It will happen later in May to coincide with the release of a new collection of essays about Jane Jacobs, “The Ways We See” which will a piece by walk leaders Rahul Srivastava and Matias Sendoa Achanove. For more information about PUKAR visit PUKAR(Partners in Urban Knowledge Action and Research).

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA
The Jane’s Walk in Lusaka will be led by local residents, assisted by Catelijne Elissen who serves on the board of the Salzburg Congress for Urban Planning and Design. Lusaka is a bustling city of three million, the capital and the commercial centre and geographical centre of Zambia. Four main highways radiate north, south, east and west from Lusaka, running through dozens of fast-growing suburbs. Local residents will walk through a few neighbourhoods making observations and telling stories about the places they live and worik, as part of their ongoing efforts to develop progressive planning policies and a community based, participatory process.
Meeting place and time: TBA

BERLIN, GERMANY
Berlin’s Letters, Fonts and Shopnames
Tour guide: Karsten Michael Drohsel
We will walk together and talk about letters, fonts and shopnames on the buildings in the neighbourhoods.The discussion will centre on the use of different shopnames, the letters and fonts which people use in these area, which stories and dreams will we find, do we feel ourselves invited or disgusted? The walk is not like a lecture, it’s more like thinking about the things we see and sharing our thoughts. The walk will start in the ‘Rollberg Viertel’ neighbourhood. Tour guide Karsten Michael Drohsel writes “Most people only believe in what statistics say and so never come to this “bad” quarter. But if you walk around here you will see some good things, interesting people and a very fresh and new sound. Neukölln is changing at the moment, so we have to take care to explore which way it will change.”
Karsten Michael Drohsel is studying urban planning in Berlin and writes “I’m a passionate flaneur in an old fashioned way, which means that I will walk very slow and follow traces. I have no destination or any interest in a special way to walk. I’m often out in the city taking photographs and walk to discover interesting places, people and stories.”
Meeting place: At the entrance of the “Otto-Suhr-Volkshochschule” at Boddinstr. 32-34
it`s near by the metro station Boddinstraße
Date: Sunday May 2, 14:00
Duration: 3 hours
Accessible: We will take paths which all particpants can use, we will take care of people who need help.

DUBLIN, IRELAND
Andrew Anderson and Mary Dimas are heading up the Jane’s Walk efforts in Dublin. Mary is an urban planner and Andrew is a landscape architect - both Toronto ex-pats. And both are very excited to invite people in Dublin to wander and explore the city together with them. Please note, the walks will go ahead rain (likely) or shine (not so likely ... this is Dublin, after all). Remember to bring an umbrella - even if the skies are blue when you leave your house - and comfy footwear.

Photo credit: Andrew Anderson

DUBLIN’S DODDER RIVER WANDER
Tour Guide: Andrew Anderson, landscape architect and temporary Dubliner on loan from Canada.
The Dodder River, also known as An Dothra in Irish (in case you’re wondering), is one of three main rivers in Dublin and has been an important source of open space, drinking water and mythology for Dubliners for nearly 800 years. A tributary of the flashier Liffey River, the Dodder empties into the Liffey adjacent to the Grand Canal Docks, a mere stone-skip from Dublin Bay and the Irish Sea. With headwaters a short 25km away in the Dublin Mountains, the Dodder follows a brief, turbulent course on its downhill slide towards Dublin before getting a hold of itself and serenely winding its way towards the Irish Sea, linking various Dublin neighbourhoods and communities along the way. We will be going back in time as we follow the route of the Dodder River from where it meets the Liffey River in the former heart of industrial Dublin upstream along its increasingly leafy, natural and fishy path towards Milltown. We will be (re)discovering a green corridor in the middle of one of Europe’s oldest cities, examining the relationship between urban form and natural watercourse and sharing stories along the way. The Dodder River Wander will end - appropriately enough - at a local pub whose local specialty probably contains a drop or two of this storied and fascinating river. The Vikings would be proud.

Meeting Place: The Waterways Visitor Centre on Grand Canal Quay at the MacMahon Bridge (where Ringsend Road crosses the Grand Canal Docks).
Start Time and Date: Saturday, 01 May 2010, 12:00 noon
Duration: 2 hours (not including post-wander pub time)
Accessibility: Since we will be collectively marching upstream along the shores of an urban watercourse, uneven terrain and tricky navigation are to be expected and may pose a challenge for accessibility.

DUBLIN’S RANELAGH VILLAGE WANDER
Tour Guide: Andrew Anderson, landscape architect, Ranelagh resident and temporary Dubliner on loan from Canada.
Ranelagh, once considered the wilds of tribal Ireland between the walled city of Dublin and the savage-ridden Wicklow Mountains, is now a thriving community near the heart of modern Dublin. A neighbourhood in transition in the post-Celtic tiger economy, Ranelagh has a rich and deep past that is still evident today. But Ranelagh is more than just the setting for an epic 13th century massacre – it is a living, breathing community full of character, life and the daily goings-on of life in Dublin. Located just south of the Grand Canal, Ranelagh links the historic Canal to the beginning of the southern suburbs of Dublin, and is squeezed in between the neighbouring village of Rathmines and the “frightfully okay” posh neighbourhood of Ballsbridge. Lest things get out of control again, the Wicklow Mountains still watch over Ranelagh from a polite distance. A village of villages, the character of Ranelagh changes from block to block, with Georgian terraces juxtaposed with Victorian rowhouses and the odd Irish cottage thrown into the mix just for the “craic” of it. We will walk the streets and laneways of Ranelagh, once the setting for epic medieval and contemporary historical events, discussing the storied history of an ancient settlement that continues to evolve to this day. Break out your best suit of armour and join the fun!

Meeting Place: Immediately in front of the Ranelagh Luas (light rail) station on Ranelagh Road, just beside the Luas overpass.
Start Time and Date: Sunday, 02 May, 12:00 noon
Duration:1.5 hours (not including post-wander pub time)
Accessibility: We will be manoeuvring streets, laneways and paved paths through the village.

Contact: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Dublin’s Stoneybatter

DUBLIN’S STONEYBATTER
Tour Guide: Kaethe Burt-O’Dea
Stoneybatter is an area of diverse contrasts. Deeply-rooted in a Dublin working-class tradition, the typical terraces of pale yellow brick artisan dwellings were originally built to house employees from the nearby Guinness Brewery, Jameson’s Distillery and the Cattle Market on the North Circular Road. Today, these elderly residents live adjacent to a more recent influx of young professionals residing in new apartment complexes as well as European, Asian and African immigrants (now just under 50% of the population) attracted by the “Celtic Tiger economy”, adding a new dimension to the area.

Although the nearby Smithfield area received considerable Celtic Tiger investment, many pockets of existing social deprivation remained neglected. The wholesale fruit and vegetable market hub which provided low priced fresh food to the neighbourhood was relocated, the traditional monthly horse fair marginalized and the social and economic activity promised by the redevelopment of this traditional market into the largest urban square in Europe never transpired. The high street scaled commercial units, which have never been filled, enclose a windswept open space which has been referred to as a ‘ghost town’ of ‘disused’ warehouses’ by the media.

The Stoneybatter walk will begin at the compost garden on Sitric Road and visit a range of small projects that aim to regenerate levels of community spirit in the Stoneybatter area. It will then continue north to view the Great Western Railway Line, a site that has inspired the LIFELINE, a community driven collaborative research project designed to connect local knowledge, build local heritage, and reclaim disused space to inspire new models of inner-city living, preventative healthcare, urban agriculture, enhanced environmental biodiversity, and eco-literacy.

Meeting Place: At the compost garden on Sitric Road, accessible from Arbour Hill on the south west corner of Sitric Road opposite Lilliput Press.
Start Time and Date: 2pm- 4pm on Saturday May 1st
Duration:1.5 hours
Contact for more walk information : Mary Dimas (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))