Around 1960 the paradigms for city planning were radically changed. Modernism became dominant and the invasion of motor cars took off. In this process the care for the people using cities – looked after for centuries by tradition and experience – was completely left behind. Cities for People became an overlooked and forgotten dimension.

This is the story told by Jan Gehl, founder of Gehl Architects, in his book “Cities for People”(Flemish version: Steden voor Mensen: Vanden Broele, Brugge 2016) which goes on to describe why looking after people is crucial for the quality of cities in the 21st century. City transformations and mobility strategies from Denmark, USA, Australia and Russia will serve as examples of this new people oriented direction in city planning.

About Jan Gehl
Jan Gehl is an Architect, Founding Partner of Gehl Architects, and Professor emeritus at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture. Over the course of his career, he has published several books, including, “Life Between Buildings”, “Cities for People”, “New City Spaces”, “Public Spaces – Public Life”, “New City Life” and most recently “How to Study Public Life”.

As part of Gehl Architects, Jan Gehl has collaborated on projects for the cities of Copenhagen, London, Melbourne, Sydney, New York and Moscow, among others. He is an honorary fellow of the architectural institutes in Denmark, England, Scotland, Ireland, USA and Canada . He has been awarded the ”Sir Patrick Abercrombie Prize for exemplary contributions to Town Planning” by The International Union of Architects as well as honorary doctor degrees from Universities in Edinburgh, Varna, Halifax and Toronto.

Date: Thursday 14 March 2019
Time: 8 PM / Doors open 7.30 PM
Location: Different location: OBA Public Library Oosterdok, Oosterdokskade 143, 1011 DL Amsterdam.
Tickets: SOLD OUT
Language: English

About the 1·Lectures
Since 2014, the Academy of Architecture has been organising the 1·Lectures in collaboration with the Amsterdam Architecture Centre. This series of architectural lectures provides a platform for speakers from home and abroad to talk about a variety of topics from the international world of architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture.