How would you find something like this if you didn’t explore?
This week I’m obsessed with streetwalkers. No, not that kind. I’m interested in people who make it their goal to walk every street in their town.
Have you ever thought about what it would take? For some small towns, not much. But there are other cities out there that would take an extreme effort to cover.
When I was on maternity leave, I spent some time walking just in the area around my neighborhood. Even though my town is relatively small, and my neighborhood a place that I’ve spent a lot of time in, I discovered a number of new and exciting things. And when I travel, I always try to find time to just walk around some neighborhoods and see what’s going on. It always leads to some good finds, such as the bunnies (above) that I found in Shoreditch, London.
Here are some people who have walked their towns:
Caleb Smith: New York City Walk
Matt Green is doing that, too, but wants to add in every bit of all five boroughs
Tom Graham: Tom Graham walks every street in San Francisco
Ariniko O’Meara: A Crusade to Walk Every Street in Lansing
I’m not sure who this is (no About page), but they are walking every street of Dunedin, NZ
Christine Colasurdo is embarking on a smaller project, but I like her philosophy – she’s taking to words of Walt Whitman to heart, and keeping it light and open-minded about what she’ll find.
Alan, a 94-year-old who walked every street in Sydney, Australia
Actually, New York and San Francisco are sort of rife with walkers. But each brings a new perspective to it. And what a way to get to know your town, eh?
Years ago, when I lived in Baltimore, I had no car, so had to walk everywhere. As I knew practically no one, I spent a lot of time exploring the suburb of Cockeysville where I lived. I still have memories of some of the gorgeous summer evenings I would spend, roaming around the town. I discovered “Johnny C’s,” which was a pool hall where Tom Cruise supposedly learned to play pool for “The Color of Money,” and an austere-yet-stunning church with sculptures that are still hauntingly beautiful in the moonlight of my memory.
That’s great. It is amazing what you can find. I discovered that right near my house is a gunsmith – here in hippy-dippy Boulder, a real, live gunsmith. Fascinating.
I would LOVE to do this more! I don’t ever get out and walk in my town. I just moved last year so everything is sort of intimidating! Maybe I will get the nerve to walk around more and share what I find!! (:
It’s amazing the crazy things you can find, even just walking around your neighborhood. Some of my really conservative neighbors have the craziest yard art!