Jan Gehl: Calming the Prague Boulevard will be a challenge

Prague - The calming of Prague's north-south thoroughfare will be one of the most difficult tasks ever tackled by Danish urbanist Jan Gehl. However, he is not afraid of the challenges, he said at today's press conference regarding his visit to the capital. Prague will sign a consultation agreement with Gehl, whose main approach is to return cities to the people, and will pay him up to two million crowns.

Gehl is renowned primarily as an expert on public space. He advises metropolises around the world on how to create pleasant urban areas. London, Vienna, Copenhagen, Oslo, Moscow, and New York have utilized his services. He should assist Prague in calming the north-south thoroughfare.

"I don't have any solutions yet. I'm like a family doctor who first comes to see what condition the patient is in and only then proposes treatment," he explained. His team will first need to familiarize themselves with the documentation, and next year they will conduct further surveys themselves.

Gehl believes that his ideas can also be realized in Prague, just as they have been in over 200 cities where he has worked in the last 20 years. "I am an optimist. I truly believe that everyone wants better cities. I know there will always be some problems, but they call me 'the Danish icebreaker,'" he said.

According to Mayor Adriana Krnáčová (ANO), several studies have already been prepared, but proposed modifications have never been implemented. Gehl is expected to change that. "We expect from him the ability to translate ideas into reality," said architect Pavla Melková from the Prague Institute of Planning and Development.

This is also hoped for by the mayor's deputy, Petra Kolínská (SZ/Trojkoalice). "Every administration has tried to solve the issue of the thoroughfare. But it is necessary to find consensus. Cooperation with Mr. Gehl could lead to that," Kolínská stated.

As a young architect, Gehl gained fame in the early 1960s by closing the Copenhagen street Strøget to cars. At that time, the street, measuring 1.1 kilometers, became the longest pedestrian zone in the world.

Gehl has formulated the principles of his approach to shaping urban spaces in various publications, some of which have been translated into Czech, including "Life Between Buildings," "New Urban Spaces," and primarily "Cities for People." He visited Prague earlier this year in March, where he lectured at the Habitat international conference.