In the run-up to the Jane's Walk weekend, and whilst we are obliged to live rather more sedentary lives than we might wish, disconnected from many of the outdoor spaces we love, here's a brilliantly ambitious, conceptually simple, collaborative project that you might like to be involved in; one that, once completed, may transform the way we map our walking world.
#SlowWays is the brainchild of Daniel Raven-Ellison, 'Guerilla Geographer', who also spearheaded the initiative to make London a National Park City.
He is seeking 500 volunteers to help map a country-wide network of interconnected walking routes, from your armchairs, based on local knowledge and OS map-reading skills.
Virtual training sessions are provided, but the last of these is on Weds 22nd April, so register quickly if you are interested.
Jane Jacobs was primarily concerned with cities rather than the spaces between. But she was a big advocate of 'slow' ways of engaging with space, of connectedness between people and places, of the importance of harnessing local knowledge, and of course of walking as a method and as the best means to a journey's end. Without doubt this is a project she would have supported.
Such an awesome project! I took part in the webinar yesterday, I love the whole idea of it and am really looking forward to being part of the process :)