Princeton’s East Nassau Street neighborhood – where the first Princeton ‘Jane Jacobs Walk’ will take place! (click to expand)

On May 7 this year, mark your calendar for the first Princeton ‘Jane Jacobs Walk’!  We are teaming up with the national ‘Jane Jacobs Walk’ organization to encourage local residents to come together to talk about what we love about Princeton, and what we want to see more of. We’ll be walking and talking around Princeton’s eclectic East Nassau Street neighborhood, checking out walkable developments from the last century to the present day. The walk is named after the legendary grassroots planning advocate, Jane Jacobs, whose 100th birthday would have been this year. Jane Jacobs was against top-down planning, and argued that the best way to learn what works in any place was by observing. We’ll be doing the same, in a “moving conversation” that will be organically based around the sites that we pass on our walk!

What are ‘Jane Jacobs Walks‘? They are “free, self-organized walks and discussions led by committed citizens sharing their knowledge about and love for places.” In the USA, Jane Jacobs Walks are organized as a program of the Center for the Living City at the University of Utah. Jane Jacobs Walks have taken place in places such as Cambridge, MA, Ithaca, NY and Chapel Hill, NC. Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) would surely have approved, having spent a lifetime dedicated to neighborhood organizing and community-led planning.

Jane Jacobs – a campaigner for neighborhood planning. (click to expand)

For the first Princeton ‘Jane Jacobs Walk’, we will lead a short tour of the East Nassau neighborhood, starting at Small World Coffee (East Nassau branch) at 254 Nassau Street. We will continue along Olden Street and Prospect Avenue before dipping into the ‘Tree Streets’ neighborhood. This is one of Princeton’s most fascinating areas, where University buildings intersect with a busy commercial strip and some of Princeton’s most storied residential streets. You won’t want to miss this if you love learning more about our town, or if you have ideas about what kind of planning works and doesn’t work in Princeton.

Route for the first Princeton ‘Jane Jacobs walk’ on May 7. (click to expand)

The tour is open to everybody, is completely free, and encourages friendly discussion! Here are the details:

• Date: Saturday May 7
• Time: 9 a.m. – 10.30 a.m.
• Start point: Small World Coffee East Nassau – 254 Nassau Street
• Tour leader will have rainbow umbrella! 🌈🌂
• Walk length: 1.3 miles with many stops for discussion along the way.
• Well-behaved doggies and children are very welcome!

We’ll be publishing more details about the walk in coming weeks, including more details about Jane Jacobs and what she might have thought about the East Nassau neighborhood. We look forward to discussing with many neighbors on the way! Come join us, and walk and talk!

Read more about our upcoming community walk at the official Jane Jacobs Walk website here!