The South City Highway was humanized by the famous architect Gehl

The North-South Boulevard is set to become a more welcoming space. Prague's councilors today approved that the famous Danish urbanist Jan Gehl (80) will work on its transformation.

"The boulevard needs to be considered as an urban boulevard," stated Mayor Adriana Krnáčová. "Today it is primarily a highway route that creates a barrier in the area. However, it can also be considered that the boulevard will connect people, not divide them."
The North-South Boulevard, built in the 1970s as the main road through the city, significantly influences the center of Prague. Over 100,000 cars travel it daily. At the same time, significant cultural buildings and public institutions are located in the immediate vicinity of the boulevard - the National Museum, the State Opera, and the High Court. It also connects important public transport hubs, such as the Main Train Station and Florenc. "The boulevard has the potential to become a prestigious address and a citywide significant public space," says Deputy Mayor Petra Kolínská. "Higher quality space along the boulevard will lead to the development of services in the area, an increase in property prices, and an improvement in the environment."

As part of the project, Gehl's team will conduct detailed surveys of the needs and expectations of users of the boulevard and adjacent public spaces. The project will focus on making the boulevard friendlier and more accessible for people. The options for crossing the boulevard will be improved, and the parks and squares along the street will also be adjusted. However, no radical restrictions on transport capacity are anticipated; the project's goal is rather to achieve a better balance of the functions that an important street is supposed to fulfill.

The cooperation with Gehl Architects was approved by Prague councilors at a meeting on Tuesday, October 18, where Jan Gehl personally presented the principles of the future project. "Our work focuses on the human dimension; we concentrate on how the built environment is connected to people's everyday lives," Gehl says about his work. In the public space concept project for the boulevard, he will work closely with the Prague Institute of Planning and Development (IPR), which has been long engaged in the topic of public spaces. The outcome of this collaboration should be an action plan with short-term adjustments, whose effects will be visible soon, as well as with long-term measures and systemic changes. The area affected is bounded by the Vltava River to the north and Nusle Valley to the south.
"Jan Gehl and his team are remarkable primarily for their comprehensive approach to the work of an architect. Their approach is valuable in that they also consider how to communicate and discuss the proposed changes in the city, so that the result is a social consensus,” says Krnáčová. "It is also crucial to have the know-how on how to phase changes in the city and how to gradually transition from small measures to systemic changes."
Danish urbanist Jan Gehl is renowned primarily as an expert on public space and life within it. His approach is based on detailed research into how people behave in public spaces and what contributes to making them feel good in these environments. Gehl has formulated the principles of his approach to shaping urban spaces in various publications, which have been translated into Czech, including "Life Between Buildings," "New Urban Spaces," and especially "Cities for People." Gehl advises metropolises around the world on how to create pleasant urban spaces. His services are utilized by London, Vienna, Copenhagen, Oslo, Moscow, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sydney, Melbourne, and others.