Jan Gehl Hon. FAIA (born 17 September 1936,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

) is a Danish

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, cities, and regional spaces, urban d ...

consultant based in

whose career has focused on improving the quality of urban life by re-orienting city design towards the pedestrian and cyclist. He is a founding partner of

Gehl Architects Gehl is an urban research and design consulting firm based in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 2000 by Professor Jan Gehl and urban designer Helle Søholt as a continuation of Gehl's research within the area over the past four decades. The ...

Biography

Gehl received a Masters of Architecture from the School of Architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (KADK) in Copenhagen in 1960, and practiced architecture from 1960 to 1966. In 1966 he received a research grant from KADK to study " the form and use of public spaces"; his book Life between Buildings (1971) reports his studies of public life in public spaces, and develops his theories about how city planning and architecture influence public life. He became a professor of urban planning at KADK, and a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

around the world. He co-founded Gehl Architects in 2000 with Helle Søholt, held a Partner position until 2011, and remains a Senior Advisor. As a "''young architect working in the suburbs,''" Gehl married a psychologist and "''had many discussions about why the human side of architecture was not more carefully looked after by the architects, landscape architects, and planners... My wife and I set out to study the borderland between sociology, psychology, architecture, and planning.''"

Influence

Gehl first published his influential ''Life Between Buildings'' in Danish in 1971, with the first English translation published in 1987. Gehl advocates a sensible, straightforward approach to improving urban form: systematically documenting urban spaces, making gradual incremental improvements, then documenting them again. In 2012 the book is translated into a film by the same name, exhibited in a 24 meters curved room at the "New Nordic Architecture" exhibition Louisiana Museum of Modern Art and later at the Venice Biennale for Architecture. Gehl's book ''Public Spaces, Public Life'' describes how such incremental improvements have transformed

from a car-dominated city to a

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...

-oriented city over 40 years. Copenhagen's Strøget carfree zone, one of the longest pedestrian shopping areas in Europe, is primarily the result of Gehl's work. Gehl participates in and advises many urban design and public projects around the world: * In 2004 he carried out an important study in to the quality of the public realm in

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, commissioned by Central London Partnership and Transport for London, and supported

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and the town of

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins th ...

in developing and delivering better public spaces, as part of an initiative known as "The Castleford Project". * In 2007–08 he was hired by

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's Department of Transportation to re-imagine New York City streets by introducing designs to improve life for pedestrians and cyclists. The DOT used Gehl's work to "directly inform" the implementation of their new urban planning and design policies and projects. * Gehl has been influential in Australia and New Zealand as well, where he prepared ''Public Life'' studies for the city centres of

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(1994 and 2004),

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(1995 and 2009),

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(2002)

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(2007),

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(2008),

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(2004),

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, Launceston and

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(2010) Gehl credits the "grandmother of humanistic planning"

Jane Jacobs Jane Jacobs (''née'' Butzner; 4 May 1916 – 25 April 2006) was an American-Canadian journalist, author, theorist, and activist who influenced urban studies, sociology, and economics. Her book ''The Death and Life of Great American Cities'' ...

for drawing his attention to the importance of

human scale Human scale is the set of physical qualities, and quantities of information, characterizing the human body, its motor, sensory, or mental capabilities, and human social institutions. Science vs. human scale Many of the objects of scientific in ...

. ''“Fifty years ago she said – go out there and see what works and what doesn’t work, and learn from reality. Look out of your windows, spend time in the streets and squares and see how people actually use spaces, learn from that, and use it.”''

Awards and distinctions

* 1992 Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University * 1993 Sir Patrick Abercrombie Prize – for exemplary contributions to Town Planning and Territorial Development,

International Union of Architects The International Union of Architects ( French: ''Union internationale des Architectes''; UIA) is the only international non-governmental organization that represents the world's architects, now estimated to number some 3.2 million in all. Abou ...

* 1998 EDRA Award, Environmental Design Research Association, USA * 2007 Honorary Academician
The Academy of Urbanism
UK * 2008 Landscape Institute Award,

Landscape Institute The Landscape Institute (LI) is a UK based professional body for the landscape profession. Its membership includes landscape architects, urban designers, landscape planners, landscape scientists and landscape managers. The LI also has a categ ...

, UK * 2008

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in ...

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to s ...

* 2009 NYC Award, New York City, USA * 2009 Civic Trust Award for ''Brighton New Road'' Civic Trust, UK * 2011 Prince Eugen Medal for outstanding artistic achievement in architecture, Denmark * 2013 C.F. Hansen Medal *

Design Futures Council The Design Futures Council is an interdisciplinary network of design, product, and construction leaders exploring global trends, challenges, and opportunities to advance innovation and shape the future of the industry and environment. Members inclu ...

Senior Fellow *2015 Global Award for Sustainable Architecture *2018 Athena Medal, Congress for the New Urbanism

Selected publications

* Gehl, J (1987) ''Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space'', translated by Jo Koch, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York. () * Gehl, J. and Gemzøe, L. (2000) ''New City Spaces'', The Danish Architectural Press. Copenhagen. () * Gehl, J. and Gemzøe, L. (2004) ''Public Spaces, Public Life'', Danish Architectural Press. () * Gehl, J. et al. (2006) ''New City Life'', The Danish Architectural Press, Denmark. () * Gehl, J. (2010) ''Cities for People'', Island Press. () * Gehl, J. and Svarre, B. (2013) ''How to Study Public Life'', Island Press

References

External links