All Invited To Walk Detroit's Prettiest Neighborhoods Today

DETROIT (WWJ) Detroit is celebrating its first Jane Jacobs Walk at 2 p.m. Sunday to promote its most desirable neighborhoods and ensure people realize they're great places to take the family for a stroll.

The walk starts at Mike's Fresh Market, on Livernois north of West 7 Mile. The walk, estimated to take about two hours, will head through Green Acres and Sherwood Forest.

"We have people actually coming into the neighborhoods because of the assets," said Kim Tandy, president of the Sherwood Forest Neighborhood Association. "There are ... all of the accessories that you really need for a wonderful neighborhood and we want to celebrate all of that."

Tandy and her friends in the neighborhood conceived of the walk, which is happening on the first weekend of May, a date that's becoming widely associated with Jane Jacobs, who was born May 4. Jacobs was an urban activist and author of "The Death and Life of Great American Cities," considered an urban planning manifesto.

There are Jane's Walks across the world today -- and now there's one in Detroit.

"We hope that next year it will grow to other neighborhoods, because even just in close proximity to where we live Green Acres and Sherwood Forest there are other walkable communities like Palmer Woods, the university district, the gold course, we have a great park, the Bagley community, there are areas like Boston Edison where people live and walk and East English Village," Tandy said.