Jan Gehl - How to Study Public Life

HOW TO STUDY PUBLIC LIFE

Jan Gehl and Birgitte Svarre

Translation by Karen Ann Steenhard

Copyright 2013 Jan Gehl and Birgitte Svarre

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher: Island Press, 2000 M Street NW, Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036

Island Press is a trademark of Island Press The Center for Resource Economics.

Gehl, Jan, 1936

[Bylivsstudier. English]

How to study public life / by Jan Gehl and Birgitte Svarre ; translation by Karen Ann Steenhard.

p. cm.

Translation of the authors Bylivsstudier.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN-13: 978-1-61091-423-9 (cloth : alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 1-61091-423-6 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. City planning.

2. Public spacesSocial aspects. I. Svarre, Birgitte. II. Title.

HT166.G43713 2013

307.1216dc23

2013023649

Printed on recycled, acid-free paper

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Project team

Camilla Richter-Friis van Deurs, graphic layout and cover

Annie Matan, project assistant

Kristian Skaarup, project assistant

Emmy Laura Perez Fjalland, student assistant

Johan Stoustrup, student assistant

Janne Bjrsted, student assistant

English translation

Karen Ann Steenhard

This project was conducted as a research project under the auspices of Gehl Architects Urban Quality Consultants, Copenhagen.

The project was made possible with the financial support of Realdania, Copenhagen.

Keywords: Action research, area studies, behavioral mapping, diary method, GPS, modernism, pedestrian activity, pedestrian realm, photo documentation, shadowing, social responsibility, stationary activity, simulation laboratory, sustainability, time-lapse photography, tracking, urban policy

Shinjuku Station, Tokyo, Japan. Approximately 1990.

Jan Gehl has devoted a lifetime to the field of public life studies, which has developed since the sixties when, as a young student of architecture, I first became aware of his work. Gehls vision is one of making cities fit for people. He and his colleagues, including Birgitte Svarre, have written about it and advised cities, developers, NGOs and governments.

This book goes behind the scenes and reveals the variety of tools in the public life studies toolbox. A proper understanding of its application is vital to all those involved in city planning and others responsible for the quality of life in our cities.

As more of us move to the city, the quality of urban life moves higher on both the local and global political agendas. Cities are the platform where urgent matters such as environmental and climate questions, a growing urban population, demographic changes, and social and health challenges must be addressed.

Cities compete to attract citizens and investment. Should that competition not be focused on the quality of life, on the experience of living in, working in, and visiting cities rather than on those superficial aspects represented by the tallest building, the biggest spaces or the most spectacular monuments?

This fascinating books examples from Melbourne, Copenhagen, New York and elsewhere illustrate how, by understanding peoples behaviour and systematically surveying and documenting public life, our emphasis can change.

Major changes can take place by using public life studies as one of the political tools. Think back five years; nobody would have dreamt of turning Times Square into a people place rather than a traffic space. Public life study was a key part of the process that enabled it to be realized so successfully.

Look and learn is the underlying motto of this book: get out in the city, see how it works, use your common sense, use all senses, and then ask whether this is the city we want in the 21st century? City life is complex, but with simple tools and systematic research it becomes more understandable.

When we get a clearer image of the status of life in cities, or even just start to focus on life, not on individual buildings or technicalities, then we can also ask more qualified questions about what it is we want and then public life studies can become a political tool for change.

The study of public life represents a cross-disciplinary approach to planning and building cities, where the work is never finished, where you always take a second look, learn, and adjust always putting people first. It is the essence of good urbanism.

George Ferguson CBE, PPRIBA

Mayor of City of Bristol, United Kingdom

Public life studies are straightforward. The basic idea is for observers to walk around while taking a good look. Observation is the key, and the means are simple and cheap. Tweaking observations into a system provides interesting information about the interaction of public life and public space.

This book is about how to study the interaction between public life and public space. This type of systematic study began in earnest in the 1960s, when several researchers and journalists on different continents criticized the urban planning of the time for having forgotten life in the city. Transport engineers concentrated on traffic; landscape architects dealt with parks and green areas; architects designed buildings; and urban planners looked at the big picture. Design and structure got serious attention, but public life and the interaction between life and space was neglected. Was that because it wasnt needed? Did people really just want housing and cities that worked like machines? Criticism that newly built residential areas lacked vitality did not come only from professionals. The public at large strongly criticized modern, newly built residential areas whose main features were light, air and convenience