Power Walk: A Field Guide

Picture your neighborhood. The corner store where you’ve seen the same clerk for years. The empty lot that’s suddenly become a construction site. The trees someone planted that now cast afternoon shade across the sidewalk.

Have you ever wondered… how did things come to be this way? Who made the choices that shaped this place? And what’s changing right now, often without us noticing?

Citizen University’s Power Walk Field Guide is an activity designed to help you look closer, notice more, and ask some new questions about the place you live. Most importantly, it will help you think about how you can play a role in what comes next. It’s for you to do by yourself — or even better, with some friends, family or neighbors of all ages.

We launched the Power Walk Field Guide in collaboration with The New York Times’ Headway Team, who led the very first Power Guide walk in New York City’s Gotham Park neighborhood.

How to do a Power Walk

1. Put on your walking shoes (we mean it.) This is an activity that requires all your senses.

2. Print out the Field Guide (or use the digital version). The Power Walk Field Guide works best when you can hold it in your hand, so if possible, we recommend printing out a copy. You’ll also find an digital version below.

3.  Find some friends (or plan for a solo walk!) and read through the “Before You Walk” sections to get yourself ready.

Field Guide – Digital Version

Here’s the digital version that can be used on your phone as you navigate. Be sure to grab a notebook and something to write with before you head out.

Open the digital guide → 

Or, better yet, print a copy of your own…

Field Guide – Print-Ready Version

Using the paper version is as simple as printing on four double-sided sheets of paper, then folding them together!

Download the print-ready guide → 

Here’s the instructions…

1. Download the PDF
2. Use these print settings:
   • Four sheets of 8.5 x 11 paper
   • Landscape orientation
   • Double sided
   • Flip on short edge (that part’s important!)
   • Color (but black and white works too)
3. Order your sheets following the page numbers
4. Fold down the middle “hamburger style” and staple it, if possible

Want to lead this activity in your organization?

If you would like 20+ Power Walk Field Guides to use or distribute in your classroom, library, or organization, reach out to [email protected] and we’ll be happy to send you a bundle!