The man who made public life the primary goal of urban design

Largely unknown to city and transportation planners in Israel, public life never high (or non-existent) on their agenda, is world-renowned Danish architect, professor and author Jan Gehl.

He credits Jane Jacobs, whose book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities’ first published in 1961, which offered succinct observations on urban life and its problems, as a major influence.

After twenty years of extensive research on the form and use of public spaces in which he developed professional tools for studying the needs of people living in cities, a field previously unknown, he founded “Gehl Architects-Urban Quality Consultants”, based in Copenhagen, a global urban design consultancy that has by now completed projects in 250 cities on five continents in the last two decades.
Just a few of the major principles in his work: human scale, pedestrian priority over the car, sustainability, livability, quality of life.

Among his books – “Cities for people”, “Life between buildings” and “How to Study Public Life”.

Following studies of social spatial research, Gehl Architects offers proposals for urban strategy, urban design and master planning, place activation and community engagement.

In his words: “A good city is like a good party – people stay longer than really necessary because they are enjoying themselves”. “First life, then spaces, then buildings – the other way around never works”. “We are in the business of relationships between people, their communities and the broader systems that sustain the planet”. Gehl’s proposals are always framed in simple and understandable language of great clarity. On the mark.

Gehl, who has devoted his life to the study of public life in cities, has also worked to educate the next generation of urban designers.

Isn’t it time for Israeli city and transportation planners to benefit from Gehl’s great contribution to the field of urban design, his enormous knowledge and experience?

Gerard Heunann – Architect and Town Planner, Jerusalem