Paper presented to Walk21-V Cities for People, The Fifth International Conference on Walking in the 21st Century, June

9-11 2004, Copenhagen, Denmark www.citiesforpeople.dk; www.walk21.com

Life, spaces and buildings turning the traditional planning process upside down
Helle Sholt Partner, GEHL Architects ApS, Urban Quality Consultants, Copenhagen Contact details: Helle Sholt, Partner Gehl Architects ApS - Urban Quality Consultants Strandgade 98 DK-1401 Copenhagen K Denmark telephone: +45 32 950 951 fax: +45 32 95+ 958 www.gehlarchitects.dk helle@gehlarchitects.dk

Abstract People, life and vitality are the biggest attractions in a city. We see it in the choice of peoples seating, where the most populated benches are located, how people choose to sit on sidewalk cafes facing the people walking by rather than the buildings behind them. The biggest quality of a sidewalk caf is simply the interaction with other people. Do you have a choice between walking through a deserted, empty street and a street with other people walking, people will choose the liveliest street that provides them with more experiences, visual variety and a feeling of safety. Life in cities is a great quality not only when it comes to the discussion of a single street but also when discussing neighbourhoods and cities as a whole. Issues on life are related to the urban environment and the quality of an urban environment depends on the life and vitality of a place. Jan Gehl, newspaper article summer 2002.

City policies and programs for buildings, site plans and city areas in both new and existing cities all wish for lively urban environments, but how do we plan and design life and thereby lively city areas?

Traditionally planners and architects start designing new city areas and the redevelopment of existing city areas by placing and planning buildings. Public and private spaces occur between the buildings some spaces more deliberately planned, others as leftover space as Roger Trancik has earlier defined it. Life in these spaces might or might not evolve. What planners and architects ought to do is to turn this conventional way of planning up side down and introduce a more controversial planning process with the people and the life of the cities and public spaces in focus. First we need to envision the future life of an area to be able to plan successful spaces, and when the spaces are formed we can develop guidelines for planning of buildings.

Biography Architect, partner of GEHL ARCHITECTS - Urban Quality Consultants, Copenhagen MA (Architecture + Urban Design) from the School of Architecture, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine arts in Copenhagen, Denmark. MA (Architecture) from the University of Washington, Seattle, USA. Teaches architecture and urban design at DIS Denmarks International Study Program in Copenhagen. National and international experience in urban design include public life surveys, urban quality analyses, development of strategy plans, public space plans, public space programs and design. Project Manager and director of GEHL Architects Copenhagen in collaboration with Professor Jan Gehl.

Life, spaces and buildings Quality criteria for good public spaces and the working methods dealing with public life
Helle Sholt Partner, GEHL Architects ApS, Urban Quality Consultants, Copenhagen

Introduction People, life and vitality are the biggest attractions in a city. We see it in the choice of peoples seating, where the most populated benches are located, how people choose to sit on sidewalk cafes facing the people walking by rather than the buildings behind them. The biggest quality of a sidewalk caf is simply the interaction with other people. Do you have a choice between walking through a deserted, empty street and a street with other people walking, people will choose the liveliest street that provides them with more experiences, visual variety and a feeling of safety. Life in cities is a great quality not only when it comes to the discussion of a single street but also when discussing neighbourhoods and cities as a whole. Issues on life are related to the urban environment and the quality of an urban environment depends on the life and vitality of a place. City policies and programs for buildings, site plans, city areas or new and existing cities all wish for lively urban environments. The bad examples are the many deserted and dull new living areas with big apartment blocks spread evenly on a large field. Or the new company buildings and headquarters, where the blank and unwelcoming facades frame the trivial and indifferent parking lots, where people who despite this - travel to and from experience that few thoughts have been spend on people, life and issues on safety. Life between buildings has become a passing afterthought. Other frightening scenarios we find in the deserted cities that have evolved in many parts of the world. In these cities cars dominate the urban areas. People walking and city life in general is gone, and all transit happens by car. The downtown cities have become parking lots and singular buildings are lying as monoliths in a sea of asphalt. No-one is walking, there are no sidewalks and of course no bicycles. Jan Gehl, newspaper article summer 2002.

People in transit: the keyword is - Network There has been a movement trying to win back public space for people activities in many cities. In our modern society we have to accept the cars and trucks in cities, but the challenge is to create a balanced city environment where people in cars, people on bikes and people walking can coexist. In the last 20-40 years a lot of cities have developed pedestrian streets in the inner cities. This development has created highly attractive central city areas for pedestrians in these cities. But the important thing is not the single pedestrian street. It is the fact, that a network of streets is established with a balance between cars and pedestrians offering equally attractive city environments and movement systems. Spaces for people: the keyword is Urban Quality As the cities develop and people are invited to walk and stay longer and enjoy the urban atmosphere a new urban culture is established. With time people find new ways of using the streets, squares and green areas of the cities. The argument often is, that we have to wait for this development to happen. Life will only come with time. But the answer to the development of life in cities is NOT only time. Planners and architects need to design spaces that are inviting for people from day one, and criteria for urban quality takes outset in peoples use of spaces and our knowledge on behavioural patterns. Cultural and climatic differences might occur between cities and countries, but the patterns of use and how people like to position themselves in a space are, it can be argued, universal. The quality criteria that are important when we design spaces between buildings are indicated in the table below. The 12 key words are grouped in issues concerning protection, comfort and enjoyment. To ensure, that a public space becomes lively and popular one must make sure that above all people are given good conditions. This means that the public space must be highly attractive. To create a 100% place - meaning a place that provides human comfort and pleasure - as many of the listed qualities have to apply to the space as possible. It is not enough to focus on the architectural design and the aesthetics of the materials and details - qualities mentioned as the last key word in the above list. If all the other important issues are not taken to account people might come to look at the beautiful design, but they will not stay for long, use and inhabit the space.

Life, spaces and buildings turning the traditional planning process upside down Traditionally, planners and architects start designing new city areas and the redevelopment of existing city areas by placing and planning buildings. Public and private spaces occur between the buildings some spaces more deliberately planned, others as leftover space as Roger Trancik has called it. Life in these spaces might or might not evolve. But life in our cities is becoming more and more fragile. There are fewer people per square meter in modern buildings than in traditional homes and offices, and if we do not plan our cities carefully, people will be more spread and places less active and lively. If we list the people using public space we can generally speak about 5 user groups:

These groups of people do different activities:

User group 1-3 visit places because they have to. People have to go to work or have to go shopping. This means that a great number of people walking in a street does NOT necessarily equal a successful space and an area of good urban quality. But user group 4 & 5 only visit a space if it is nice and offers a great city environment. It is these groups of people doing optional activities in a space we need to plan for, and THEY are the indicators of a successful and lively environment. To create a lively place we need to focus on people. What planners and architects ought to do is to turn the conventional way of planning up side down and introduce a more controversial planning process with the people and the life of the cities and public spaces in focus. Instead of starting with the buildings, we need to envision the future life of an area first. This way we can form nice spaces that are inviting for people and take in consideration peoples needs and behavioural patterns, and when the spaces are formed we can develop guidelines for planning of buildings. Buildings and spaces are linked. Our buildings form spaces but they also form us. We have to make sure this relationship does not limit peoples possible movements and recreational options in a space. Only when the quality criteria are addressed, when all user groups are

invited and all the different activities are possible, we can talk about a successful and lively public space of high urban quality.