Jan Gehl is an architect and founder of ‘Gehl Architects’ an urban design firm based in Copenhagen. He also published “Life between buildings”, a core book used by urbanists and architects to understand the relation between the people and public space. Throughout his career, he focuses on the life of human beings in the spaces between buildings. He was deeply influenced by urbanist and activist Jane Jacobs’ interpretation of the human scale with architecture.
“Go out there and see what works and what does not work, and learn from reality. Look out of your windows, spend time in the streets and squares and see how people use spaces, learn from that, and use it.” – Jane Jacobs
Architecture | Public Space
The architecture defined by Jan Gehl “is an interplay between form and life.” Good architecture taught by him is a successful interaction between life, form, and architecture. While Jacobs’ focused on parks, streets, pedestrian walkways, and mixed-use cities that promoted the local economy.
Public Space Architecture
The architecture of public spaces in cities was initially designed for the people and their basic activities for survival. The scale of the city was proportionate to the needs and comfort of the people concerning the streets.
After the industrial revolution and the development of motor vehicles, cities were redesigned for motor vehicles moving at an average speed of 60km/hr. To date, pedestrians and cyclists are given less importance in public space architecture. Jan Gehl claims that during the last 15 years of city planning, people were encouraged to sit behind computers or cars from early morning to late night. He even referred to the term as – sitting syndrome. Cities like Copenhagen, Melbourne, and Perth act as best practices or role models of pedestrian-friendly architecture for cities across the globe.
Architects and designers strive for basic facilities for the people using a space in the built environment. Creating a public space that respects the comfort, requirement, and well-being of a human being proves the success of that space.
Change in perspective
Through the works of urbanists like Jane Jacobs and Jan Gehl, public spaces are viewed from a human perspective. The architecture and design of public spaces are modified to withstand human beings’ time, requirements, and comfort.
Humans, being a biological evolution of an ape or chimpanzee always prefer to be mobile in their natural habitat. Cities should be designed to satisfy needs like access to basic facilities within a 15 min walking radius.
Cities for people | Public Space
Human scale is another factor in the architecture of city design. Eyes on the street coined by Jane Jacobs specifies this factor for the safety and security of the passerby on the street. These elements add value to the architectural urban fabric of the city and create a sense of arrival.
The plight of cities in India these days, when compared to the teachings by Jan Gehl and Jane Jacobs is miserable. Roads are made for vehicles alone, as human beings are mere shadows in the spotlight. Fatal road accidents are on a constant rise, and when compared to cities in the west, it is a shame. The walkability of pedestrians on roadsides is poor. The width of a pedestrian path is less than a meter wide. A tree blocking these paths is common site in addition to streetlights and signboards.
Squares and plazas-like spaces for congregations are uncommon in India. But junctions of vehicular movement, as mentioned by Kevin Lynch are nodes of importance and priority. Currently, multiple place-making projects across the globe focus on these junctions for pedestrianization. The junctions are painted with attractive colors to demarcate areas for vehicles and pedestrians.
Conclusion
Cities, according to the teachings of various urbanists, planners and architects should be redesigned with a human-centric approach. Multiple initiatives by various agencies are currently underway or completed that transform devoid public spaces into spaces that are made specifically to keep the physical and mental well-being of people in mind. Some aspects that are focused currently on in India are walkability, recreation, exercise, and urban regeneration. Some examples of new initiatives in India are by ITDP for on-street parking and the One Mile project that focuses on the rejuvenation of spaces under flyovers for users of various age groups.
Cities should always be for the people and by the people. A participatory planning approach involving the community and end users should be followed while designing spaces for them. This could be identified through surveys, questionnaires, and community events. Each intervention done should be with the complete consent of the users and should be modified to meet the maximum comfort of the users of that space. Architects and designers should keep the taste of the place while designing public spaces, also known as a “sense of place”. The design interventions should follow certain principles that match the culture and identity of that specific place. A general approach to public spaces, following similar design ideas of other cities should be avoided.
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