“First life, then spaces, then buildings – the other way around never works.” – Jan Gehl (Danish Architect)
In this current timeline of the Informative age, where buildings are still very much seen as objects or iconic sculptures in an urban fabric intertwined with car invasion, ob servable livable cities as spaces for people seem minuscule in quantity. As such, many spaces in between buildings are spaces either leftover, massive in scale, have no connection with the buildings they surround or are even deserted with a lack of humanistic touch, making a city neither livable nor sustainable. It is a progressive, modern city with a poor quality of life for the people.
Though modern urban planning is generally viewed from above on the scale of a city plan and site plan, an ideal city urban planning has in gredients influenced by the people’s landscapes through a pedestrian’s experience – the city at eyelevel view and as Jan Gehl asserts, best measured at moving speed of 5km/h.
In Denmark, since its imple mentation in 1962, peoplefirst policies have gradually restored peopleplace approaches from city planning based on trafficplace approaches influenced by modern ism. These peoplefirst policies had guided Copenhagen to adopt strate gies that geared them into creating ingredients such as pedestrianised typed streets and squares.
Safe pedestrian paths, bicycle lanes with a complete citywide cycling network, linked bridges, and adequately expanding public transport, including the Metro systems not only encouraged the Danes to opt for a healthy mode of getting around the city but also in return gave residents themselves and the city better quality wellbeing conditions.
“Placemaking is turning physical public spaces into places that support human interaction, economic exchange and well-being.” – Fred Kent & Kathy Madden (Place makers)
“The interplay between Form (Buildings) and life is architecture.” – Jan Gehl (Danish Architect)
The opportunities to do nothing but mostly people-watching and experiencing architecture last year December during my travels to Copenhagen and a glimpse of Malmö old city centre (not stalking in any weird manner or whatsoever, seriously) either over a good coffee through the window of a cafe bakery, on the streets at the edge of a building waiting for the bus experiencing the ‘edge-effect’ or before crossing the car lanes was truly experiential. To have firsthand experience on the ground level of the applied strategies of people-place showed what makes a good environment for people and the kind of cities people should live in.
That leaves us all regardless of profession, to ponder and dwell upon “How do built forms influence the life of people and what is the balance marker between people and shared spaces either within a building or outside a building?” while embracing the old built in an ever-progressive modern city for the coming decades.
“Think BIG, but always remember to make people places small.”
– Jan Gehl
As highlighted by Jan Gehl during his talk at the UIA World Congress of Architecture last year 2023 July, a change of mindset to improve the quality of the people is the key. This matter had never been this urgent which makes every day an opportunity to be the starting point to redirect the unsustainable mindset of modern man.
Our humble actions determine our humble futures.
