Architect Gehl: Cities should be for people, not for cars

Prague - Cities should primarily serve people, not cars, claims the famous Danish architect Jan Gehl. Today, he is the main guest at a conference on architecture and urbanism in Prague at the Trade Fair Palace. According to Gehl, good architecture is not just about form, but about the relationship between form and life. People must feel comfortable in the city and have conditions for walking and cycling. Gehl considers Copenhagen and Melbourne to be good examples, noting that Prague has not seized the opportunity to create a livable city in recent decades.
    Prague is historically much more beautiful than Copenhagen, yet according to Gehl, life in the Danish capital is more pleasant precisely because of its human-sensitive urbanism. Historically, cities were built according to the needs of people, until around the 1960s, when economic growth and the development of car traffic began to transform cities into places of roads, intersections, tunnels, and parking lots. "Cities started to be built upwards, roads were added, and people somehow fell out of the equation," Gehl told journalists before the conference.
    Unlike most cities in the world, Copenhagen decided as early as the 1960s to divert traffic away from the city. As the first of the Nordic cities, it established pedestrian zones, restricted parking in the center, and developed a rich network of bike paths. Gehl is convinced that there is currently a climate suitable for changing urban policymakers' thinking about urbanism and architecture elsewhere in the world, including the Czech Republic. "Many cities have started to use people-oriented planning," Gehl said. The goal should be to create safer, sustainable, environmentally friendly, and healthier cities, according to the architect.
    Jan Gehl owns an architectural studio and teaches at several universities. As a consultant, he has worked in many cities around the world. For instance, in New York, his studio developed a strategy for modifying Broadway to expand sidewalks, create small squares with benches, and streets with bike lanes.
    The Prague conference titled Public Spaces - Living Spaces is organized by the Partnership Foundation. The foundation supports environmental protection and public involvement in decision-making about the creation of public spaces. Over 500 participants have registered for the conference.