CITIES FOR PEOPLE

BY JAN GEHL
1. Foreword and preface
2. The human dimension
3. Senses and scale
4. The lively, safe, sustainable, and healthy city
5. The city at eye level
6. Life, space, buildings – in that order
7. Developing cities
8. Toolbox
9. Appendix.
 The human dimension
The human dimension sets the stage for focusing on the needs of people
who use cities directly and intimately as a means of creating better, safer
and livelier cities. Championing the necessity of designing cities for
pedestrian and cyclists instead of the automobile, he introduces the
nature of activities that make vibrant cities as well as what he believes are
three model cities – Venice, Copenhagen and Melbourne – that embody
several of the principles he explains throughout the book. Although
several cities make their way into the book, these three are referred to
continually throughout.
 Senses and Scale

Using Edward T Hall’s theory of Proxemics

Senses and scale discusses the humans senses and key dimensions
associated with human interaction. The spatial, architectural, and urban
implications are clearly explained, particularly in relation to making more
humane environments for people. Although those who have read Gehl’s
well-known Life Between Buildings will see quite a bit of overlap in this
section, a lot of the initial work and images have been updated and added
to. Arguably, this section is the most important in the book since it
outlines, most directly, the relationship between the human physiology
and the creation of people-oriented environments.
 The lively, safe, sustainable, and healthy city

Focuses on describing what what is required to create a lively, safe,

sustainable and healthy city. Each one of these is discussed in separate
subsections and touch upon a variety of themes – from appropriate
densities and the importance of narrow commercial units to how clearly
structured cities contribute to safety. It’s worth noting that Gehl
emphasizes important concepts like the fact that dense, lively
environments are not necessarily ones with tall buildings, despite the
common claim that these go hand-in-hand. In his words:
 The city at eye level
The city at eye level continues the strong argument for a pedestrian-based
city environment. Going into more detail about providing good
environments “for people to walk, stand, sit, watch, listen and talk”, Gehl
describes the human experience of the urban landscape as the most
important scale for city planning and the most significant aspects of
creating good quality urban environments. Towards this end, Gehl tackles
fundamental issues such as walking distances and times, the preference
for edges around spaces, the necessity for visual and auditory contact, as
well as the importance of integrating cyclists into city life.
 Life, space, buildings – in that order
• the provision of spaces for expression, play and exercise into ordinary
everyday city spaces. However, Gehl puts less emphasis on the creation of
new specialized facilities, explaining that these activities should be
available to everybody and encouraged through city design. A short but
powerful section describes the Western predisposition for specialized
“Please play here” playgrounds versus seeing a city itself as a playground.
Two very different approaches to play within the urban landscape.
• Starting with what he calls, the Brasilia Syndrome – a city modelled
planned on common modernist principles that put the human scale at the
bottom of planning priorities – Life, space, and buildings – in that
order talks to the need to reverse the order of importance within standard
planning processes that value buildings over people.
 Developing cities

• With images and discussion focusing dominantly on developed urban

environments, the Developing Cities chapter puts forth arguments for
reinforcing pedestrian-based planning in these rapidly growing urban
landscapes and how economic development is not at odds with creating
good quality urban life. As such, it showcases some strong, creative
policies and projects that are occurring in Curitiba, Columbia and Cape
Town, Africa in response to the challenges in these locations.