Jan Gehl
About Jan Gehl
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Books by Jan Gehl
“How To Study Public Life” (2021)
How Do We Accommodate A Growing Urban Population In A Way That Is Sustainable, Equitable, And Inviting? This Question Is Becoming Increasingly Urgent To Answer As We Face Diminishing Fossil-fuel Resources And The Effects Of A Changing Climate While Global Cities Continue To Compete To Be The Most Vibrant Centers Of Culture, Knowledge, And Finance. Jan Gehl Has Been Examining This Question Since The 1960s, When Few Urban Designers Or Planners Were Thinking About Designing Cities For People. But Given The Unpredictable, Complex And Ephemeral Nature Of Life In Cities, How Can We Best Design Public Infrastructure—vital To Cities For Getting From Place To Place, Or Staying In Place—for Human Use? Studying City Life And Understanding The Factors That Encourage Or Discourage Use Is The Key To Designing Inviting Public Space. In How To Study Public Life Jan Gehl And Birgitte Svarre Draw From Their Combined Experience Of Over 50 Years To Provide A History Of Public-life Study As Well As Methods And Tools Necessary To Recapture City Life As An Important Planning Dimension. This Type Of Systematic Study Began In Earnest In The 1960s, When Several Researchers And Journalists On Different Continents Criticized Urban Planning For Having Forgotten Life In The City. City Life Studies Provide Knowledge About Human Behavior In The Built Environment In An Attempt To Put It On An Equal Footing With Knowledge About Urban Elements Such As Buildings And Transport Systems. Studies Can Be Used As Input In The Decision-making Process, As Part Of Overall Planning, Or In Designing Individual Projects Such As Streets, Squares Or Parks. The Original Goal Is Still The Goal Today: To Recapture City Life As An Important Planning Dimension. Anyone Interested In Improving City Life Will Find Inspiration, Tools, And Examples In This Invaluable Guide. Foreword By George Ferguson -- Preface -- 1. Public Space, Public Life: An Interaction -- 2. Who, What, Where? -- 3. Counting, Mapping, Tracking And Other Tools -- 4. Public Life Studies From A Historical Perspective -- 5. How They Did It: Research Notes -- 6. Public Life Studies In Practice -- 7. Public Life Studies And Urban Policy -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Illustration And Photo Credits. By Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre.
“New City Spaces” (2021)
Jan Gehl & Lars Gemzoee. Based On Materials From The Project New Tendencies In Public Space Architecture. Conducted At The School Of Architecture, Royal Danish Academy Of Arts.
“Cities for People” (2013)
For more than forty years Jan Gehl has helped to transform urban environments around the world based on his research into the ways people actually use—or could use—the spaces where they live and work. In this revolutionary book, Gehl presents his latest work creating (or recreating) cityscapes on a human scale. He clearly explains the methods and tools he uses to reconfigure unworkable cityscapes into the landscapes he believes they should be: cities for people. Taking into account changing demographics and changing lifestyles, Gehl emphasizes four human issues that he sees as essential to successful city planning. He explains how to develop cities that are Lively, Safe, Sustainable, and Healthy. Focusing on these issues leads Gehl to think of even the largest city on a very small scale. For Gehl, the urban landscape must be considered through the five human senses and experienced at the speed of walking rather than at the speed of riding in a car or bus or train. This small-scale view, he argues, is too frequently neglected in contemporary projects. In a final chapter, Gehl makes a plea for city planning on a human scale in the fast- growing cities of developing countries. A “Toolbox,” presenting key principles, overviews of methods, and keyword lists, concludes the book. The book is extensively illustrated with over 700 photos and drawings of examples from Gehl’s work around the globe.
“Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space” (2011)
Life Between Buildings is Jan Gehl’s classic text on the importance of designing urban public spaces with the fundamental desires of people as guiding principles. The book describes essential elements that contribute to people’s enjoyment of spaces in the public realm. These elements remain remarkably constant even as architectural styles go in and out of fashion and the character of the ‘life between buildings’ changes. The enduring relevance of Life Between Buildings, originally published in Danish over forty years ago and subsequently translated into fifteen languages, is a testament to Jan’s straightforward approach. This book provides both inspiration and information for those who wish to elevate the livability of cities and towns around the world.
“New City Life” (2006)
New City Life
At a glanceJan Gehl
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