Jane's Walk in Basel

Whether you're new to Basel or have lived here for years, you've likely developed a personal relationship with the city. You interpret its streets, buildings, and public spaces through the lens of your own experiences - you read Basel in your own way. With Basel's first ever Jane's Walk on Saturday, 3 May 2025, you can share your perspective while also hearing how others see the city. Join us and discover new ways of looking at familiar places!

Jane's Walk

New to Basel this year but globally established for nearly two decades, Jane’s Walk is named after Jane Jacobs (1916–2006), an American-Canadian urban theorist, author, and activist whose work reshaped how we think about cities. Organized as a walking conversation rather than a guided tour, Jane’s Walk encourages people to explore their surroundings, discover hidden aspects of their communities, engage in meaningful dialogue, and use walking as a way to connect with one another.

Jane Jacobs and Her Work

Jane Jacobs is best known for her groundbreaking 1961 book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, in which she challenged the modernist approach to urban planning. She championed the idea that cities should be designed for people rather than cars, emphasizing the importance of dense, walkable neighbourhoods. Her ideas were rooted in firsthand observations of everyday urban life in New York City’s Greenwich Village, where she lived for many years before relocating to Toronto, Canada. There, she became a leading voice in urban activism, playing a key role in halting expressway projects that would have disrupted local communities.

In addition to her landmark work, Jacobs published six more books, exploring not only cities but also the fields of economics, ethics, governance, and culture. A key theme throughout her work was the social fabric of cities, particularly the role of strangers. Jacobs challenged the notion that strangers in urban spaces were inherently threatening. Instead, she argued that vibrant, well-used public spaces foster a kind of informal social trust, where “eyes on the street” create safety and connection. In her view, the presence of strangers wasn’t something to fear, but a vital ingredient in a healthy, dynamic city.

This belief in the power of informal community connections lives on through Jane’s Walks, which create opportunities for strangers to meet, share insights, and deepen their relationship with the urban landscape. They offer a way of reading the city—decoding its patterns and hidden layers through shared experience.

From Toronto to Basel

The very first Jane’s Walk took place in Toronto in 2006, it was organized by Jacobs’ friends and colleagues as a tribute to her legacy. Since then, the movement has grown from a local initiative into a global phenomenon. Entirely volunteer-led, Jane’s Walks are free and open to everyone. They typically take place in early May, around the time of Jane Jacobs’ birthday. Switzerland joined the movement in 2021, with the first Jane’s Walks held in the French-speaking part of the country. This year, walks will take place in over 30 towns across Switzerland—and for the first time, in Basel.

More About Basel’s Jane’s Walk

The theme of Basel’s inaugural walk draws inspiration from the fact that nearly 40% of the city’s population are foreigners, representing 168 nationalities. Many languages are spoken here alongside the local dialect, Baseldytsch. In addition to all of these, however, there exists a language spoken by the built city, the city that communicates through its architecture and public spaces.

This is the inspiration behind the title of Basel’s first Jane’s Walk: What language does Basel speak? An Attempt to Read the City. Our itinerary will take us from the Kunstmuseum Neubau, across the Wettsteinbrücke and further along Oberer- and Unterer-Rheinweg, ending at the Kaserne. Along the way, we’ll observe everything from the smallest façade details to entire building complexes, reflecting on and sharing our impressions. To make the walk more inclusive - and to offer an opportunity for those still learning the local language to practice - our walking conversation will take place in simple German.

Registration

Welche Sprache spricht Basel? Ein Versuch, die Stadt zu lesen is free of charge, but the number of participants is limited - please sign up here by 28 April 2025. The walk will take place rain or shine.

Date: 3 May 2025 Time: 15:30 - 17:00

Meeting place: Kunstmuseum Neubau

End: Amber Bar, Kaserne

Organizer: Dina Bonefacic Mihaljek dina@architecture-walks-and-talks.net

For more information on all Jane’s Walks in Switzerland, see Fussverkehr Schweiz. More on the international movement and Jane’s Walks all over the world: Let’s Get Walking

Dina Bonefacic Mihaljek

Dina has now lived in the Basel region for about as long as in her native city of Zagreb. She earned her MA in Architecture and pursued doctoral studies in the field of computational modelling of design processes in the USA. Dina founded architecture walks and talks in 2007, drawing on her professional interest in architecture as well as her desire to share the knowledge she gained while exploring the Basel area. She offers bespoke guided tours and illustrated presentations on architecture related topics.