Jan Gehl, Lord Richard Rogers: Cities for People (2013, Island Press)
English language
Published May 11, 2013 by Island Press.
Went into this expecting I would already know everything in the book, still took plenty notes. Great illustrations. Could use some more examples from the Netherlands, though.
A look at how the architecture of a city affects its livability. It starts off examining how cities work at human speeds (i.e. walking speed) and at ground level. Livable cities are those in which much interaction happens in public spaces. Those things are influenced by what the spaces between buildings are like and whether people would actually want to linger there.
Modernism emphasizes tall grand buildings with sheer blank facades surrounded by vast open public spaces which are designed to fit the buildings and look good from helicopter level. These areas fail because of their cold sterile nature and are unused by people. More importantly, top priority given to motor traffic movements through cities have streamlined roads for fast car movement and have stripped the livability out of streets and cities.
This book examines those issues and urges a reversal of current planning practices of designing buildings first and …
A look at how the architecture of a city affects its livability. It starts off examining how cities work at human speeds (i.e. walking speed) and at ground level. Livable cities are those in which much interaction happens in public spaces. Those things are influenced by what the spaces between buildings are like and whether people would actually want to linger there.
Modernism emphasizes tall grand buildings with sheer blank facades surrounded by vast open public spaces which are designed to fit the buildings and look good from helicopter level. These areas fail because of their cold sterile nature and are unused by people. More importantly, top priority given to motor traffic movements through cities have streamlined roads for fast car movement and have stripped the livability out of streets and cities.
This book examines those issues and urges a reversal of current planning practices of designing buildings first and then worrying about the space between them later to looking at what creates a dynamic city through the public spaces and designing the buildings to fit into them.
Other reviews point out that the book is a bit Powerpoint-ish and simplistic. I don't see that as a problem. It brings together a lot of ideas and presents them in an easy visual format and makes its points well. We continue to design lifeless cities, so something needs to get through to those who can change these policies. There are plenty of academic papers out there in the literature, but a book like this is something that policy makers and normal citizens would actually engage with and help move us out of the Modernist age into designing cities which actually work for people.
