Book Recommendation: Cities for People

[Roland Beinert]

I just wanted to recommend the book Cities for People by Jan Gehl. It’s about how urban designers have ignored the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists (obviously) and what can be done to invite them back into cities. There are plenty of books on this sort of topic, but this one is worth reading. It’s well-written and full of interesting details most designers never consider. The recommendations the author makes are based on observations rather than conjecture.

[Jason T. Radice]

 

I’ve met Gehl, and he has high praise for LAs, as he thinks we are the only design profession that actually thinks about human interaction and human scale in design. We design with cognizance on how pedestrians will experience our work. Not true of planners who participate in ‘airplane design’ so things look good from above, but may not function on the ground plane. Architects use “helicopter design” and view their buildings in elevation and sketches from slightly above and at an angle.

 

I agree that this is an excellent book which I have referred to several times already (even though it just came out). I was lucky enough to attend in the US publisher’s release and have my copied personalized and signed (I have quite a collection of signed books now).  Now, you can too!

 

For those of you in the DC/Baltimore area, Gehl will be lecturing at the National Building Museum on April 7th and will be signing this book. Tickets are by reservation and are $12 for members, $20 for non-members, and FREE for students. Walk in may be available if there is space. Check it out here:

 

http://www.nbm.org/about-us/press-room/media-advisory/2011-atherton-media-advisory.html

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