Artsy Bridgeland Riverside – A Jane’s Walk

May 31, 2025

by Susan Mullholand, BRCA Beautification Committee member

Jane Jacobs (May 1916 to 25 April 2006) was a Canadian American who advocated for vibrant cities. She highlighted the importance of varied buildings, density, mixed land use, strong local economy, diversity, and cities as ecosystems. Although she had no formal training in urban planning, she had a strong influence in promoting community in both New York City and Toronto. One concept she’s best known for is “eyes on the street” (the more people in the streets, the safer they become).

To celebrate Jane, as well as promote vibrant communities:

“Jane’s Walk is an annual festival of free, community-led walking conversations inspired by urbanist and writer Jane Jacobs. On the first weekend of May every year, Jane’s Walk festivals take place in hundreds of cities around the world. This event encourages people to share stories about their neighbourhoods, discover unseen aspects of their communities, and use walking as a way to connect with their neighbours.” (Jane’s Walk Calgary Communities, 2025)

This year, there were 73 Jane’s Walks in Calgary, with over 2,400 registrants across three days, and I led my first one, Artsy Bridgeland Riverside, on Saturday, May 3 from 1:00 to 2:30 pm. It was a beautiful, sunny, 27°C day with a group of 24 of us who met at the BRCA community hall. Most of the people in the group were visiting from other neighbourhoods, and six were from Bridgeland-Riverside. We walked approximately 15 blocks with 13 art stops and ended at Sparrow Artspace with three artists in residence, Arran and Ashley Mae Johnston and Milo Dlouhy. Although we only walked about one kilometre, we fulfilled a deeper purpose, to connect and share information about the various public art pieces, and, in the spirit of Jane’s Walk, to also meet some like-minded folks and build community.

During the walk, we visited public art pieces housed in Bridgeland Riverside: seven large-scale murals done by professional artists, the Wishing Well sculpture, and five community-created and implemented art projects. I shared some background about each creation, as well as its purpose and impact on the community. For example, My Beautiful Backyard was a community project aimed at adding beauty as well as mitigating an area frequently graffitied. In August 2017, the BRCA Beautification Committee held an event, and a range of locals of all ages (including a dog) took up paint brushes to share what they see in their own beautiful backyards. They painted on ten canvases that are the backside of the St. Matthew Lutheran church parking lot number signs. As an example of impact and success, to date, these signs haven’t been the victim of graffiti since they were painted.

I encourage you to learn more about Jane’s Walk or consider leading one yourself. Find out more at janeswalk.org and janeswalk.calgarycommunities.com.

You can also join the weekly Bridgeland Walking Group that meets at the BRCA community hall on Tuesdays at 6:45 pm. Or, if you’d like to do some self-guided walks, check out https://brcacalgary.org/programs/bridgeland-walks/.