Courtenay Miller
Jane’s Walk Victoria is organized by Courtenay Miller. To learn more about local Jane’s Walks or get involved, get in touch using the contact information below.
Walk Stories
Walk stories are chronicles of moments, ideas, insights, and images from a Jane’s Walk, curated and submitted by local participants, walk leaders, and city organizers. Want yours to be the first one here? Share your experience with us below.
May 2022 – North Park – Edgy to the Core
City Organizer: Courtenay Miller
Walk Leader: Harold Stanley
Text by: The North Park Neighbourhood Association (NPNA)
Photographs by: Courtenay Miller
The North Park Neighbourhood Association (NPNA) hosted the first Jane’s Walk in North Park on May 8th, 2022. The NPNA is a non-profit society that plays an active role in improving the quality of life in the North Park neighbourhood. Our Jane’s Walk, named after the noted Canadian urbanist Jane Jacobs, consisted of 10 stops starting at Franklin Green and ending at the Royal Athletic Park’s Multicultural festival. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and 56 participants joined us for an adventure exploring the neighbourhood.
The Jane’s Walk featured a variety of speakers providing diverse and unique perspectives at each stop. Having a wide range of speakers allowed the participants to learn about the unique community that is North Park. The Jane’s Walk provided a chance to examine the characteristics of North Park, as well as its history, and its future. The diverse group, including walk leaders, speakers, newcomers, longtime residents, subject matter experts, and curious community members offered a valuable experience to re-examine familiar or unfamiliar areas of the neighbourhood.
One of the more memorable speakers was Janine Theobald from the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness who presented on the Tiny Homes Community. This transitional housing site is made up of shipping containers that have been retrofitted to house 30 individuals with on-site support and services. Local developer, Aryze Developments, in collaboration with the City and the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness crowdfunded over $500,000 to finance the construction of the Tiny Homes community. The Tiny Homes Community is an excellent example of how a neighbourhood can come together and support the greater community. One of Jane Jacobs’s well-known principles is neighbourhood diversity and how diverse neighbourhoods provide economic and social support for residents. Jacobs advocated for diverse, mixed-use neighbourhoods that encouraged density and opportunities for human interaction. The Tiny Homes Community is an example of excellent neighbourhood diversity and community. This was a favourite stop on the Janes Walk for many people. Participants also enjoyed the information and the new ways of thinking about everyday public spaces revealed during the walk.
Thank you to everyone who joined us on the 2022 North Park Jane’s Walk! We hope to continue to organize this annually and highlight the fantastic things about North Park and commemorate Jane Jacobs’s urban planning principles.
Did you participate in a Jane’s Walk in this city?