The “Sidewalk Ballet” and Radical Mixed Use in Jane Jacobs’ Toronto

Known as a staunch defender of the neighborhood, Jane Jacobs is internationally recognized for both stopping the Manhattan Expressway and for her essential work “The Death and Life of Great American Cities.”

Perhaps less known is that Jacobs spent the latter half of her life in Toronto, where she saved the Annex neighborhood from yet another urban expressway, had a hand in (re)planning one of Toronto’s central neighborhoods, and has influenced generations of city builders. Guided by those who worked alongside here, this tour will highlight portions of the city that her activism saved, the qualities of the neighborhood that Jacobs so effectively defended, and the influence of Jacobs’ work in policy and neighborhood design. The tour will also engage critically with her legacy, consider how contemporary developments—notably, the award-winning Mirvish Village development—have reinterpreted her lessons, and reflect on whether King-West has effectively balanced density with her original intentions.