Jane's Walk

We use three basic methods: a facilitated walk with groups of residents to allow them to talk about their neighbourhoods and the types of places and facilities they use and how they work; a short individual survey that asks about where and how often people walk to carry out daily activities like shopping and going to the bus stop; and a facilitated social mapping exercise where residents talk about the walking environments in the neighbourhood as a whole as their ideas are recorded on a shared community map.

A preliminary report for each neighbourhood studied can be used by residents and community groups to work with the city to make changes or modifications to their walking environment. A general report will be created to help better highlight these types of inner suburban communities. This report will be available to the general public and submitted to the Toronto Pedestrian Committee and other community stakeholders. Academic articles will also be written by Professor Paul Hess to add to the growing literature on walking and neighbourhoods.

An overview report summarizing findings written by Professor Paul Hess and Jane Farrow will be available in September 2011. In the meantime, please read our preliminary Walkability Reports from the high rise neighbourhoods of Toronto, the first such studies done in North America’s inner suburbs.