“First life, then spaces, then buildings. The other way around never works.”

Danish architect Jan Gehl’s career has focused on improving the quality of urban life by focusing first on the pedestrian and the cyclist. “First life, then spaces, then buildings. The other way around never works.” Gehl’s methods of observation and study of urban space, which evaluates the quality of a city by counting the active use of its outdoor spaces are now used around the world.

Gehl’s publications, Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space (1972) and Cities for People (2011) have been seminal texts for those wanting to make people-oriented cities.

In his talk at the Roca London Gallery in January, Gehl discussed his extensive work with creating cities for people worldwide, using psychology and architecture to support a human centered approach to urban planning.

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