22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Life Between Buildings V.2, October 15, 2010
Overall this is a great book, a great addition to anyone's architecture/planning library and also is also great for people who just getting into the field of planning.
The problem, however is the fact is that it is basically a repetition of everything what has already been said in another timeless book by Jan Gehl "Life Between Buildings". I am very fond of all the work produced by Jan Gehl, and in the end I do not regret buying this book, but it is disappointing to see how little afford was actually put into it. Even some of the pictures are directly taken from his other books. In the end, I want to give it a 5 star review, because it is nevertheless a great book, especially for anybody who is not familiar with other books by Jan Gehl, but I have to give a 3 star review, because it is really a sort new edition of Life Between Buildings. At the same time Life Between Buildings provides a far more detailed analysis about public spaces and its social dimension and is just way more engaging, and I would recommend buying it before Cities for People.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Will Change the Way You Think About Cities - [...], September 27, 2010
I received the book fresh off the press, and the book was filled with fresh ideas about how we design our cities.
Gehl has been in the field of architecture and urban design for a long time now. Through "Cities for People" Gehl shares his knowledge and wisdom that he has acquired through out the years. As a student intending to be an architecture, reading this book completely changed what I thought being an architecture was about.
Who should read this book?
City Politicians - Read this book and better understand your citizens.
Architectures and Urban Planners - Obviously people in the design field should read it. I believe every student would greatly benefit, I know I did.
Citizens! - Yes, I believe citizens should read this book. For those that live in cities improve your voice in city policy by having an understand of how cities work at the human level, your level. For those that don't live in the city, it will make a well design city a place you desire to live.
Key Concepts
-The most prominent concept in the book is viewing the city through the human perspective. In the past several decades, since the automobile has dominated city life, architecture and urban spaces have been created for the fast pace of the automobile. Buildings are bigger, with less details. Urban spaces are far too large to be enjoyable. Gehl argues that urban planners and architects must begin to view design from a bottom up perspective, from instead of a top down perspective.
-Pictures-- Reading Gehl's book was an experience. I did not read the book from front to back. I continually flipped ahead to look at the wonderful pictures, to return back and re read a paragraph I just read. Without the pictures in the book, "Cities for People" would be a dull experience. However, there are many pictures used to emphasize certain points. Gehl could have thrown tons of numbers at you(which he does have plenty of statistical data), instead he shows you the difference between a car friendly street and a pedestrian friendly street. He shows how a long street with no windows or lights scares people away, compared to a street with open shops and outdoor cafes have an exuberant human interaction.
-Walking, Bicycling ,Staying and Meeting -- Most of the book focuses on getting more people walking and bicycling as means of transportation. Walking and Cycling can also lead to staying in urban spaces and meeting people.
Table of Contents (Chapter Titles)
1. The Human Dimension
2. Senses and Scale
3. The lively, safe, sustainable, and healthy city
4. The city at eye level
5. Life, space, buildings -- in that order
6. Developing cities
The only criticism I have with the book is that Gehl focuses entirely on out door space. Most of what he tells us should apply to indoors, but it would be nice if Gehl took his ideas into the buildings not just outside.
A Great Architect and another great book. Worth every page turn.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Great pictures!, September 24, 2011
I write this review from the perspective of a lay person. I'm not an architect or an urban planner - I am a real estate agent. So perhaps I'm best described as an interested observer.
However, I really like this book. I've read a few other urban planning books, and as some of the other reviewers suggest, this book doesn't necessarily break a ton of new ground. But the main reason I'm giving this book high marks is for the pictures. The pictures are outstanding. I'd estimate that roughly 40% of the book is pictures that are perfect examples of the illustrations written in the text. They really bring the words alive and give you pause to think about the cityscapes in your own experience.
You barely even need to read this book to feel its effects. Simply viewing the pictures and reading their captions could convey the author's complete sentiment. I found it to be very accessible - using very little specialized language or terms.
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