Jane’s Walk MKE inspires residents to explore in May

Jane’s Walk MKE Kickoff

MILWAUKEE — Jane’s Walk MKE will bring people together to walk, talk, explore, and reimagine our city during the month of May. There will be more than 20 free, community-led tours and explorations to encourage people to explore their own neighborhoods and others around the city through walks and talks as well as paddles and bike rides. The month kicks off with a celebration of inspiring people and projects building our neighborhoods and communities.

Jane’s Walk MKE is part of a worldwide movement of more than 200 cities hosting free, citizen-led walking tours inspired by urbanist and writer Jane Jacobs. However, Milwaukee is unique by expanding from one weekend to the whole month! Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was a writer, urbanist and activist who championed the voices of everyday people in neighborhood planning and city-building. She is the subject of the critically acclaimed 2017 documentary Citizen Jane.

The kickoff, “Seeding Grassroots,” invites the community to a free event at the Turner Hall Ballroom on Wednesday, May 2 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The evening begins with a community meal of Jamaican stew and an expo-style showcase of organizations and projects making Milwaukee better for all through neighborhood- and community-building efforts. A panel discussion moderated by Michael Carriere, an MSOE associate professor and co-coordinator of the ReciproCITY arts collective, will feature changemakers, placemakers, tour guides, entrepreneurs, and artists talking about their grassroots work and hopes for Milwaukee. Panelists include Adam Carr, Antoine Carter, Mikal Floyd-Pruitt, Tatiana Maida, Tim Syth, Ruth Weill, and Venice Williams. Learn more and register at JanesWalkMKE.com.

Here is a sample of community-led, free explorations. View the continuously growing list and register for events at JanesWalkMKE.com.

• Wednesday, May 2: “Seeding Grassroots” Panel Discussion
• Saturday, May 5: One Wisconsin Avenue and Coffee & Conversation with John Gurda
• Saturday, May 5: An Ecological & Historical Tour of the New Lindsay Heights
• Saturday, May 5: Jane & HMI Go Way Back, Celebrating Walker’s Point
• Saturday, May 5: The Beer Line and Beyond: How Ice & Sawdust Formed a Bond
• Saturday, May 5: AWAKE – A Walking Answer to Kinnickinnic Entropy
• Tuesday, May 8: A Sunset Stroll on a Future Riverwalk
• Thursday, May 10: Safe Passage: Connecting 53211 & 53212
• Friday, May 11: Kickoff of the Three Bridges Park Walking Club
• Saturday, May 12: Food Roots
• Saturday, May 12: Hidden Treasures of Hawthorne Glen
• Saturday, May 12: Taking Back Our World
• Saturday, May 12: Jones Walk
• Saturday, May 12: Activating MacArthur Square (Wait, where’s that?!)
• Sunday, May 13: Mother’s Day Picnic & Paddle
• Sunday, May 13: Milwaukee’s Clean Infrastructure – On a Bike!
• Thursday, May 17: Exploring the Unconscious of the Self & the City
• Friday, May 18: TGIF Stroll: Lake to Riverwalk, Parks to Plazas
• Saturday, May 19: Walk with Jamin Creed Rowan, author of The Sociable City & Book Talk at Boswell Book Company
• Saturday, May 19: Walk like a 4 Year Old!
• Sunday, May 20: Jesus, we need a change! Praying for Peace, Healing, and Reconciliation
• Monday, May 21: South Water Street & a Treat
• Thursday, May 24: All is Flux(us) – Activating Brady Street

Jane’s Walk MKE is an all-volunteer effort made possible through an organizing committee and dozens of community partners and citizens striving to engage and reimagine our city through dialogue and community-led exploration. Jane’s Walk MKE is sponsored by the Milwaukee Turners and ZIP MKE.

Jane’s Walk MKE’s mission is to host free, citizen-led neighborhood explorations and community-building events that embody urban activist Jane Jacobs’ legacy through observing, reflecting, questioning, and collectively reimagining the places in which Milwaukeeans live, work, and play. We believe in building a “walkable and talkable” city, planned for and by citizens. We envision a Milwaukee that has, to borrow from Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities, “the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, [it is] created by everybody.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

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