Eyes on the Street: Celebrating Civic Engagement in Maine

As this audience of esteemed planners must know, Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was a community activist and writer best known for galvanizing her neighbors to stop a highway from being built through their community. She believed in the power of individuals to influence the places they live, famously stating that “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” Today, her ideas underpin the participatory planning approaches that have been embraced in communities around the world. 

Following her death in 2006, a global festival called Jane’s Walk was created in her honor. The first weekend in May, crowd-sourced, volunteer-led walking conversations take place in more than 500 cities and towns around the world. The festival is centered on observation, inclusion, open dialogue, civic engagement, and community building.

Maine Preservation began hosting Jane’s Walk in Maine in 2022 in collaboration with Friends of Congress Square Park, Greater Portland Landmarks, Maine Downtown Center, and Portland Downtown (the Maine Semiquincentennial Commission is a partner now too). Over the last four years, around 200 walks have taken place in dozens of communities across the state with an estimated 4,000 people attending.

Walk topics have varied from traditional tours focused on history and architecture (“Architectural Styles and Stories: Eastport’s Central Neighborhood”) to more personal explorations of place (“My Queer Portland”). Indeed, several have tackled more wonky subjects like adaptive reuse, storm-water mitigation, brownfield redevelopment, surface parking, and more.

Each year, we open a public call for walks in February (this year's deadline to submit is March 27) and then offer two training sessions on best practices for leading and promoting a walk. Literally anyone can do it—we are all experts in our own communities and have plenty to share. Visit janeswalkme.org to sign up for our newsletter or submit a walk idea so you can be the first to learn more about how to participate in this year’s festival on Saturday, May 2!