Book review of Life between Buildings

8/13/2019 Book review of Life between Buildings

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The Journal of Space Syntax

ISSN: 2044-7507 Year: 2012 volume: 3 issue: 1 Online Publicaon Date: 13 August 2012

hp://www.journalofspacesyntax.org/

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Jan Gehl (1987/2011), Life Between Buildings: Using Public SpaceWashington - Covelo - London: Island Press, ISBN: 978-1597268271

Jan Gehl (2010), Cities for PeopleWashington - Covelo - London: Island Press, ISBN: 978-1597265737

Reviewed by:

Beatriz Campos

Space Syntax So Paulo

So Paulo, Brazil

Pages: 125-128

book reviewbook r


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Book Review:

Jan Gehl (1987, 2011 revisited ed.), Life Between Buildings:

Using Public Space

Washington - Covelo - London: Island Press, ISBN: 978-1597268271

Jan Gehl (2010), Cities for PeopleWashington - Covelo - London: Island Press, ISBN: 978-1597265737

Reviewed by

Beatriz Campos

Space Syntax So Paulo

So Paulo, Brazil

Life Between Buildings,

2011 revisited edition

Photo source:

< http://islandpress.org/ip/

books/book/islandpress/L/

bo8036913.html>

Jan Gehl is a Danish architect who, in parallel to

his academic career, has worked through his ar-

chitectural practice on the design of public spaces

and urban regeneration projects all over the word,

including Brighton, Newcastle and London.1His

interest in the quality and performance of public

spaces started with a research grant from Royal

Danish Academy of Fine Arts for studies on theform and use of public spaces. Since then Gehl

has published extensively; his success in injecting

outdoor life into northern European cities has led

to worldwide impact of his design guidance (Gehl,

1987; Gehl & Gemze, 2004, 2000; Gehl et al.,

2006; and Gehl, 2010). This review focuses on two

of his books: Life Between Buildings(2011, revised

edition) and Cities for People (2010).

The highly inuential Life Between Buildings

was rst published in 1971 with the rst English

translation in 1987, whilst this review considers the

reissue of the book in its sixth edition last year. The

book examines the relationship between patterns of

space use, specically outdoor activities, and the

spatial properties of the physical environment. Gehl

promotes a straightforward approach to improving

urban form, which is derived from systematically

documenting the performance of urban spaces and

analysing what factors inuence their use. Gehl uses

the human dimension as the starting point for his

analysis2and measures the success of the urban

environment by quantifying the levels of pedestrian

ows, levels and length of stationary activity - includ-

ing human contact and social interaction.

The book is divided into four main chapters,

which range from general to specic models. In

Chapter 1 Life Between Buildings Gehl intro-

duces the concepts of necessary, optimal and

social activities (Gehl, 1987, p.9), which sets the

background for his analysis on the urban environ-

ment physical properties. To support his ideas, Gehl

also examines the spatial properties of traditional

Notes:

1

E-source, available at: [Ac-

cessed 8 June 2012]

2 For Gehl, the urban land-scape must be considered

through the ve human sens-

es and experienced at the

speed of walking rather than

at the speed of a car.

3Gehl makes a timely obser-vation when referring to Tra-

falgar Square: The pedes-

trian landscape of the square

in the 1970s consisted of

48 islands that pedestrians

could walk between, in con-

trast to the situation seen

on old photographs, where

pedestriansmove across

the square in a natural and

leisurely fashion in all direc-

tions (Gehl, 1987, p.139).

Refer also to: Space Syntax

(2003 and 2005) Trafalgar

Square consultancy reports

for Foster and Partners and

Hillier (1998).
http://islandpress.org/ip/books/book/islandpress/L/bo8036913.htmlhttp://islandpress.org/ip/books/book/islandpress/L/bo8036913.htmlhttp://islandpress.org/ip/books/book/islandpress/L/bo8036913.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Danish_Academy_of_Fine_Artshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Danish_Academy_of_Fine_Artshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Life_Between_Buildings&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_areahttp://www.gehlarchitects.com/?#/165291/http://www.gehlarchitects.com/?#/165291/http://www.gehlarchitects.com/?#/165291/http://www.gehlarchitects.com/?#/165291/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_areahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Life_Between_Buildings&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Danish_Academy_of_Fine_Artshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Danish_Academy_of_Fine_Artshttp://islandpress.org/ip/books/book/islandpress/L/bo8036913.htmlhttp://islandpress.org/ip/books/book/islandpress/L/bo8036913.htmlhttp://islandpress.org/ip/books/book/islandpress/L/bo8036913.html


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Volume 3 Issue 1

spatial components which will enhance or reduce

pedestrian ows across and around the public

space: building heights, orientation of entrances,

multifunction areas and active frontages, density,

modes of transport (pedestrians and cyclists), ac-

cessibility and visibility from immediate surrounding

areas (Whyte, 1980; Hettiarachchie, 1987). It is

here that Gehl acknowledges that well-functioning

pedestrian systems facilitate the shortest distances

between natural destinations and makes a rather

compelling argument about the failure of Trafalgar

Square before its redevelopment.3

Lastly, Gehl is aware that for public spaces to

be lively and successful they need to have a com-

bination of both moving and stationary activities. In

Chapter 4 - Spaces for Walking, Places for Staying

- Gehl focuses on static activities and the physical

elements that will make people not only stop but

also spend time with the space. According to Gehl,

the design of individual spaces and of the details,

down to the smallest component, are determining

factors to quality of public spaces (Gehl, 1987,

p.129). Gehl also discusses preferable areas for

sitting and standing as well as the edge effect4and

the correlation between static occupancy and levels

of pedestrian movement5. Interestingly, although

Gehl does refer to Sittes work (Gehl, 1987, p.43),

one of the few typologies which is not explored isthe concept of enclosure and irregularity principles.6

Cities for Peoplewas published in 2010 and it

is, to a degree, a revised version of Life Between

Buildings. In addition to the elements previouslydiscussed, Gehl examines issues such as sustain-

ability, shared spaces, mixed use, sense of security,

usability and levels of pedestrian comfort. Like in his

previous book - Gehl uses systematic and empirical

observations of patterns of space use, often making

gradual incremental improvements, then document-

ing them again to demonstrate what makes public

spaces alive. Throughout the book, Gehl explains

medieval public spaces (such as dimensions and

detailed design) and relates the identied common

denominators to the success or failure of contempo-

rary examples. He then discusses the introduction

of contemporary urban city planning principles and

the reasons why the 20 thcentury design ideas, such

as functionalism (Gehl, 1987, p.43), were central to

the lack of vitality in street life.

In Chapter 2 - Prerequisites for Planning- Gehl

analyses the physical properties of human senses

(such as smell, hearing, seeing) and social dis-

tances. Like many other authors (Sitte 1889, 1945;Alexander et al., 1977; Lynch, 1971), Gehl believes

there must be a correspondence between the di-

mension of a public square and a sense of place

(Cullen, 1961). If squares are too big for the number

of users, they will feel empty. This leads to a further

idea: the self-reinforcing process where individual

events stimulate others:

If activities and people are assembled, individual

events will stimulate one another (Gehl, 1987,

p.107).

In line with Gehls argument on the importance

of the self- reinforcing process, in Chapter 3 To

Assemble or Disperse Gehl examines a series of

Notes:

4 The edge effect (Gehl,

1987, p.159) is widely ac-

knowledged by a number of

different researchers. In fact,

Gehl adopts this terminology

from De Jonge (1967). De

Jonge, after observations on

static occupation in a series

of recreation areas (such as

parks and roadside resting

places) claims that other

things being equal, the parts

of the areas near the main

entrances are parking areas

and used more intensively

than the distance parts

This phenomenon can been

called the edge effect. Ac-

cording to Gehl, the edge

is the preferred location for

standing or sitting when

people rst occupy the bor-

ders and edges of the public

spaces, and only once they

are fully occupied, do people

tend to move inwards. The

edge effect exists because

people prefer to sit in areas

facing the pedestrian ow,

and therefore the location on

the boundary of the public

spaces will provide the bestviews, with extensive and

richer visual elds. Gehl sug-

gests that benches that pro-

vide a good view of the sur-

rounding activities are used

more often than benches

with less or no view of others

since human activities are

the main attraction for users

of public spaces. Although

Gehl makes a distinction,

claiming that the location for

sitting is chosen more care-

fully than standing, he points

out that the edge effect is ob-

served in both cases. Refer

also to Alexander et al. (1977

op cit.) and Marcus and

Francis (1990).

Cities For People, 2010

Photo source:
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Book Review:

Life Between Buildings

& Cies for People

Campos, B.

the methods and tools he believes are necessary to

recongure public spaces into the environment he

believes they all should be: urban meeting places,

places for social cohesion and interaction.

The book follows a similar structure to Life Be-

tween Buildings. Chapters 3 and 4 are possibly the

two chapters that the readers of JOSS might nd

the most innovative and signicant. When stressing

the importance of mixed use and active frontages,

Gehl points out that mixed functions provide more

activities around the clock bringing safety and

protection to both residents and visitors to the

surrounding public space. As for shared spaces:

Gehl is sympathetic with the idea and recognizes

its benets, however he points out that although

mixing trafc (pedestrian, cyclists and vehicular)

is possible, mixed trafc solutions must prioritise

pedestrians.

Gehl also examines the positive relationship

between well-functioning urban areas and sus-

tainability. However, the signicance of sustain-

ability is centred on the responsible management

of resources and health benets. Gehl does not

examine the social and economic benets of sus -

tainable city centres as a result of what adequate

accessibility brings to pedestrian movement and

trade as presented in the seminal work of Hillier

and colleagues7. Another missed opportunity is

the lack of reference to city life as an outcome of its

emergent morphology and the role of urban spatial

conguration, both at local and global levels, on

the performance of public spaces (Arruda Cam-

pos, 2000).The space syntax methodology as a

design tool and its functionality, which allows the

correlation of spatial elements and social variables

is paramount for understanding public spaces,

mainly the correlation between conguration and

pedestrian movement ows and stationary activity

(Hillier et al., 1993).

There is no doubt that Gehl understands the

mechanisms behind life between buildings. Gehls

human dimension as the starting point for the

design of the urban environment is inspirational.

Both books are engaging, logical and rich in case

studies, which illustrate Gehls approach. If Life

Between Buildings was and still is an outstanding

contribution to the subject, Cities for People,despite

addressing a number of current issues, could have

been more engaging and informative about how the

spatial morphology of the urban grid shapes the

performance of urban spaces.

Nevertheless, both books are a must-read for

students, designers, as well as anybody interested

in the performance of public spaces and the urban

environment as a whole.

Notes:

5 Gehl produced a surveyof patterns of space use in

public spaces in Stroget,

Denmark. He notes that the

levels of static occupancy of

public spaces had dramati-

cally increased over a period

of twenty years and all avail-able squares of good qual-

ity were lled to capacity

every day. He concludes that

the main reasons for deter-

mining the quality or usability

of each space are closely re-

lated to its location in relation

to the main pedestrian ows,

which had also dramatically

increased in the previous

twenty years, meaning that

the static occupancy had in-

creased in direct proportion

to the levels of pedestrian

movement.

6

A very common interpre-tation is that liveable pub-

lic spaces should observe

enclosure and irregularity

principles, which were de-

rived from studies of tradi-

tional medieval squares.

Sitte (1889 op cit.), Unwin

(1909) and Zucker (1959)

regard enclosure, dened

by the grouping of architec-

tural masses around an open

space, as the fundamental

property of public spaces.

Only enclosed spaces could

provide the users a sense

of well-being, comfort and

pleasure, and thereforewould ultimately determine

the preference by the public

for such spaces.

7 See Chapter 4 Cities as

Movement Economies in

Hillier (1996) and Stonor

(2009).


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Oxford University Press.

Arruda Campos, M. B. (2000), Urban Public Spaces: A

Study of the Relation Between Spatial Conguration

and Use Patterns. PhD Thesis, University of London.

Cullen, G. (1961), Townscape, London: The Architectural

Press.

De Jonge, D. (1967), Applied hodology. In: Landscape,

Vol. 17 (2), p.10-11.

Gehl, J. (2010), Cities for People, Washington - Covelo -

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Space(transl. by Koch, J.), New York: Van Nostrand

Reinhold.

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Documents

Book review of Life between Buildings