Preservation Buffalo Niagara (PBN) is challenging people to design a Jane’s Walk based on daily routine observations of the West Side. PBN is particularly interested in these West Side observations, because the organization is a community partner in the planning process for the evolving Grant Street corridor.
Over the last decade, we have seen some real sparks of life along Grant Street, but it has been relatively slow moving with incremental advancements for the most part. And now with COVID-19, the street is suffering from some setbacks, which is to be expected. That’s why it’s even more important to take this time to reinvent Grant Street, by implementing measures that would make it one of the most walkable commercial districts in the city.
That’s where Jane’s Walk comes in. This is the perfect time to take notes… and create maps! For those who are social distancing, while walking the West Side, your observations could come in very handy.
In past years, Jane’s Walks have encouraged people to get outdoors, walking around various neighborhoods throughout their cities. That’s essentially what Toronto’s iconic urbanist Jane Jacobs always wanted for cities – to be safer, friendlier, and more walkable. Not devoted to car culture. Walkable neighborhoods have ripple effects. They bring people together. They make us happy and healthier. They make cities stronger.
This PBN assignment takes a page from CityLab’s recent article that features homemade maps that people are creating – Your Maps of Life Under Lockdown – inspired by their own daily walks.
PBN invites West Siders to create their own Maps of Life Under Lockdown, to see what’s working, and what’s not. This Jane’s Walk mapping mashup drill essentially asks residents to map out their walks (sounds, colors, buildings, signs – get creative), before sending them along to help create a better and broader urbanist picture of life in the district. By learning more about the West Side as a whole, it will be easier to pinpoint the needs of Grant Street and bounding streets.
Lead image – Madd Love Map – courtesy of Mark Madden @ maddtattoo.com
“Please submit your walking-distance maps of the West Side to brauch@pbnsaves.org. Any format is accepted. It can be a picture you draw, photos of 3D representations (like a neighborhood made with Legos), written descriptions, or recordings. We especially would like to see highlighted locations that you visit and value. We are giving away 10 gift certificates. All West Side residents who submit a map will have a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to the West Side Bazaar.” – PBN
Lead image: Photo by ian dooley