How to Study Public Life

Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, Architecture, Planning
Cover of the book How to Study Public Life by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre, Island Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre ISBN: 9781610915250
Publisher: Island Press Publication: October 1, 2013
Imprint: Island Press Language: English
Author: Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
ISBN: 9781610915250
Publisher: Island Press
Publication: October 1, 2013
Imprint: Island Press
Language: English
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.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
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.

More books from Island Press

Cover of the book Energy Democracy by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
Cover of the book Reconstructing Earth by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
Cover of the book Environmentalism and the Technologies of Tomorrow by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
Cover of the book Vital Signs 2012 by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
Cover of the book Planning for Biodiversity by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
Cover of the book Urban Development by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
Cover of the book Ecological Design, Tenth Anniversary Edition by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
Cover of the book Engineering the Farm by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
Cover of the book Rewilding North America by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
Cover of the book Adapting Cities to Sea Level Rise by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
Cover of the book Investing in Nature by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
Cover of the book Fire Ecology of Pacific Northwest Forests by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
Cover of the book Oceans and Marine Resources in a Changing Climate by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
Cover of the book Diagnosis: Mercury by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
Cover of the book Challenge of Global Warming by Jan Gehl, Birgitte Svarre
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy