Jan Gehl

Aerial view of glass high-rise buildings on waterfront in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Video: How Tall Should Buildings Be?

Is there an ideal height — or should buildings be as tall as they need to be to fulfill housing needs?

February 29, 2024 - Next City

Cities for People

Jan Gehl on 60 Years of Designing Cities for People

The 10th anniversary of "Cities for People" offers the occasion for this interview with Jan Gehl, who has devoted a 60-year career to ideas about humanistic city planning—ideas of increasing relevance in 2020.

July 15, 2020 - Jan Gehl

Third Street Promenade Santa Monica

Santa Monica Pedestrian Mall Wants People to Hang Out

Updates are coming to the Third Street Promenade as it seeks to innovate the retail experience.

March 20, 2019 - Los Angeles Magazine

Melbourne

Jan Gehl on the Politics of Transforming Cities

Advancing the politics of public transportation and public spaces is not easy. Danish architect Jan Gehl and his firm Gehl Architects, however, have a track record of success with cities around the world.

September 28, 2016 - Lily Song

An Ambitious Plan to Rethink Toronto's King Street

Here's a project to watch: an influential group of contractors has been hired for a complete streets makeover for King Street in Toronto.

January 26, 2016 - Toronto Star

Cities for People

Life and Form: An Interview with Jan Gehl

Danish Architect Jan Gehl talks about the intersections of architecture and social science.

August 20, 2015 - Metropolis

A sign for pedestrians and cars

Lessons from 'The Human Scale'

How can we redirect our city building into a form that can handle the expected doubling of urban residents over the next 40 years? Great ideas can be found in this collection of soundbites from the film, "The Human Scale."

February 17, 2015 - PlaceShakers

Checking in with Jan Gehl

The Guardian ran a long feature examining the life and work of Jan Gehl, well known to planners as the urban "rethinker" behind the movement to design cities and places to the human scale.

December 12, 2014 - The Guardian

Harvard Square

On the Importance of the Human Scale in Walkable Cities

Instead of density for density's sake (or for smart growth's sake), F. Kaid Benfield argues that the human scale is the key to walkable smart growth.

October 8, 2014 - Huffington Post

Copenhagenizing Moscow

A new report by Danish firm Gehl Architects presents recommendations for transforming car-cluttered Moscow. A compact city center along with a strong desire for change are potential building blocks for a human-friendly and sustainable city.

September 25, 2013 - Cities for People

Jan Gehl: People-Friendly Cities Are Cheap & Easy

Famed Danish architect Jan Gehl shared his thoughts this week about people-friendly cities, and why we have no option but to build them.

August 18, 2013 - Future Cities

Melbourne Pedestrians

How Jan Gehl Turned Melbourne into a Pedestrian Paradise

Danish architect Jan Gehl and a steadfast group of local collaborators have transformed Melbourne from a lifeless 9-5 city into a preeminently livable place. Mitra Anderson-Oliver looks at the principles that have guided their work.

June 24, 2013 - Assemble

Why London's Public Spaces Don't Measure Up

The Economist looks at the improvements made to London's public spaces over the last decade, as the city's first elected mayors strove to improve the capital city's environs. So why has the city failed to keep up with its global competitors?

July 16, 2012 - The Economist

Friday Funny: Urbanism Avengers Assemble!

Last week's record setting premiere of the Avengers movie franchise inspired the launch of a planning and design themed legion of superheroes on Twitter. Sommer Mathis interviews the urbanist behind the mask.

May 11, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Jan Gehl on the Past 40 Years of Urbanism

Famed urbanist Jan Gehl looks back at the writing and thought on how people use the urban environment -- including his own -- over the past 40 years.

October 24, 2011 - Life & Urbanism

Jan Gehl on Safety

Want to prevent crime and keep people safe in traffic? Jan Gehl says the solution is to mix up pedestrians, bikes and cars into "shared spaces."

June 15, 2011 - Streetsblog

The Pursuit of Form

Jan Gehl talks about the problematic history of architecture, landscape architecture and yes, planning, when it comes to building cities for people rather than celebrating form for its own sake.

April 15, 2011 - ASLA's The Dirt blog

The Predictability of Humans in Public Spaces

Jan Gehl sits down with Greg Linsday to talk about his new book, Cities for People, if Phoenix could take lessons from New York, and "the needs of the urban habitat of homo sapiens."

September 26, 2010 - Fast Company

Jan Gehl is Pulling New York's Strings

The man behind the plan? Danish urbanist Jan Gehl has been quietly working behind the scenes on New York's transformation to pedestrian paradise.

September 20, 2010 - Capital New York

The Busiest Street In Town

Few children’s books skillfully cover the subject of urban planning. Chicago's Wacker Manual for the Plan of Chicago (1911), David Macaulay’s lavishly illustrated City:A Story of Roman Planning and Construction (1974), and most recently, Planetizen's Where Things Are, From Near to Far (2008) are standouts. 

July 25, 2010 - Mike Lydon

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.