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A review by sumatra_squall
Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space by Jan Gehl
4.0
Another urban design classic. First published in 1971, Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space, as its name suggests, talks about the issues planners and designers should think about in creative active public spaces. That to promote active public life, we have to move away from planning approaches that focus on the building structure, its design, layout and functions, but views the space outside the building as an afterthought.
Gehl discusses the need to create invitations for people to enter the public realm and as important, to linger there. If we want multi-user spaces, spaces must first be multi-use. Gehl argues that planning approaches that try to separate different functions - residential, commercial, recreational, etc - into difference spaces breeds monotony and results in the desertification of public space. He also argues for taking a human-centred design approach that is in sync with how people perceive and interact with the world - for instance, streetscapes that that nestle comfortably within, rather than extend far beyond, our field of vision; routes and paths that we can comfortably navigate on foot; spaces that allow people to transition gradually from private to public spaces, etc.
What I loved about the book was its ability break down and explain what most of us might instinctively sense, but find difficult to articulate. Why some places like Copenhagen and Venice (even outside peak tourist season) have active street life but others look like ghost towns. Why some places are inherently attractive to people, drawing people to walk and linger in the space whereas others do not. The clean writing was a bonus.
Gehl discusses the need to create invitations for people to enter the public realm and as important, to linger there. If we want multi-user spaces, spaces must first be multi-use. Gehl argues that planning approaches that try to separate different functions - residential, commercial, recreational, etc - into difference spaces breeds monotony and results in the desertification of public space. He also argues for taking a human-centred design approach that is in sync with how people perceive and interact with the world - for instance, streetscapes that that nestle comfortably within, rather than extend far beyond, our field of vision; routes and paths that we can comfortably navigate on foot; spaces that allow people to transition gradually from private to public spaces, etc.
What I loved about the book was its ability break down and explain what most of us might instinctively sense, but find difficult to articulate. Why some places like Copenhagen and Venice (even outside peak tourist season) have active street life but others look like ghost towns. Why some places are inherently attractive to people, drawing people to walk and linger in the space whereas others do not. The clean writing was a bonus.