Inspired by activist and urbanist Jane Jacobs, Jane’s Walk MKE aims to spur free resident-led neighborhood walks and explorations to help build community and ignite conversations inspired by Jacobs' landmark book, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities."
After the madness that was 2020, the series – part of an international movement – is back for its fifth installment with a mix of in-person and virtual events that run from May 15 until June 15.
There will be more than 15 safely conducted tours, though video tours and mapped routes will allow folks to do the explorations on their own, if they feel more comfortable doing so.
Here are some of the events on tap...
In-person walks
- Five Infamous Events from Milwaukee’s Past, May 15, 10 a.m.
- Meander: A Surrealist Exploration of City & Self, May 21, 7 p.m.
- All is Flux(us): Brady Street Live!, May 23, 1 p.m.
- From Drag Racing to Design District, May 26 at 5 p.m., June 5 at 10 a.m.
- Perspectives on Tragedy, May 31, 10 a.m.
- Meander: A Surrealist Exploration of City & Self (Part 2), June 4, 7 p.m.
- Five Uniquely Milwaukee Destinations Accessible by Bublr, June 5, 10 a.m.
- From Transportation to Restoration: the Menomonee River Valley’s waterways, June 7, 5 p.m.
- The Milwaukee River Greenway: our premier urban wilderness, June 12, 10 a.m.
- History Unhidden: Milwaukee’s LGBTQ heritage tour, June 12 and June 13, noon and 2 p.m.
Video and mapped walks
- Brady Street
- Visual Vibes on Villard
- A Home for Heroes: Milwaukee’s Soldiers Home
- Neighborhood Tours of Havenwoods, Clarke Square and Lindsay Heights
You can find a complete list and details – and register for in-person events – at JanesWalkMKE.org.
There's also information there on "Take 5," which lets you create an itinerary of your five favorite places.
Jane’s Walk MKE, a local program of Milwaukee Turners, is an all-volunteer effort.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He can be heard weekly on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories.
