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Designing space for bicycles! While Making Cities for People… By Helle Søholt Founding Partner, CEO Architect MAA, M. ARCH, M.M.D
Designing space for bicycles! WhileMakingCities for People…
By Helle SøholtFounding Partner, CEOArchitect MAA, M. ARCH, M.M.D
Gehl — Making Cities for People
Helle SøholtFounding Partner, CEOArchitect MAA, M. ARCH, M.M.D
Everyday urban Bicyclist!
Business leader & Advocate for healthy urban living and sustainable urban planning!
Gehl — Making Cities for People
Copenhagen San Francisco
Gehl is an international urban strategy & design practice
New York
Gehl — Making Cities for People
Our mission
Making Cities for People
We work for cities and communities to be equitable, healthy and sustainable
places for all
Gehl — Making Cities for People
Bicycling is part of a bigger picture!
UNSDG’s
Gehl — Making Cities for People
How we design spaceSiloed planning, design and management
How we experience spaceIntegrated planning, design & implementation
From silos even in transport planning to a human experience
Gehl — Making Cities for People
across departments…
Gehl — Making Cities for People
acrossmodes…
Gehl — Making Cities for People
acrossdistance, density and municipal boarders…
0
10.000
20.000
30.000
40.000
50.000
60.000
70.000
0-2 km 2-4.9km 5-9.9 km 10-14.9 km >15km
Walk
Bicycle
Car
Bus and Train
Gehl — Making Cities for People
Starting with a story from Copenhagen…
First of all: Cycling in Copenhagen is
not about the bike
Photos courtesy of Gehl or City of Copenhagen unless otherwise stated
Photo: Christiania Bikes
It is abouta way of life
Copenhagen has become the most liveable city in the world and bicycling is part of the story!- Bicycling is part of city life - Bicycling is public space design- Bicycling is integrated through design
What is happening now due to Covid-19• City centres are struggling • Neighbourhoods have increased activity levels and experience a
revival• Public spaces & parks are a necessary relief • Mobility and behaviours are changing• Cities have cleaner air due to reduced traffic • Physical distancing and new citizen skills are developing • Physical inactivity, obesity and mental illnesses are increasing
In Copenhagen it started in the 70’ties…
Lessons:
”Never miss a crisisto make change”
Listen to the citizens
Gehl Architects
Copenhagen’s history
1930-1950´s 1970´s 1980´s 00´s
Copenhagen’s 3 C’s
Connected ConsistentContinuous
Connected
Continually improved –
an ongoing process
ConsistentLanes and tracks are always on the right-hand side
Gehl Architects
Continuous
Integrated with other transport
modes
Gehl Architects
Cultural proof that design affects behaviour:
40-50% cycle to work and education
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
Primary mode of transport for trips to work or education in the City of Copenhagen
Other
Walk
Regional train
S-train
Bus
Car
Metro
Bicycle
Cultural proof that design affects behaviour:
70% of the people cycling in the summertime continue to bike in the Winter
Gehl — Making Cities for People
Developinga sharedunderstanding
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25%Of families with 2 kids or more have a cargobike
66%Of all motorists arealso cyclists
33%Of all cyclists are alsomotorists
Gehl Architects
The bottom line
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In Copenhagen:
€ 0,37: Gain to society per cycled kilometre.
€ 0,54: Gain to society per kilometre transferred from car to bicycle in rush hour traffic
– Cowi A/S / Incentive & City of Copenhagen, 2009/2015 (2014 prices)
Gehl Architects
“Cycletrackpriority Plan”
Map from plan showing input from citizens:
Red: Cycle track lackingBlack: Cycle track too narrowBlue: Improvement of intersection neededListen to the Citizens
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Why Copenhageners cycle?
”Easy, convenient” 50 %
”Fast” 49 %
”Exercise” 42 %
”Cheap” 25 %
”Environmentally friendly” 7 %
City of Copenhagen, 2014 Bicycle Account
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(1995-2005)
Copenhagen A liveable city
+17% Jobs
+19% Copenhageners
+25% Trips (to, from and internal)
-38% Share of car trips to work or education
The Gehl Approach
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Gehl MobilityServices Mobility
EthnographyNetwork
Planning for New Mobility
Urban Design for Cycling +
Active Mobility
Prioritization + Performance Measurement
Streetscape Design
Change Management
Traditional planning process
lifebuildings traffic
?
Life & mobility Space Buildings
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The Gehl – People first process
Gehl — Making Cities for People
LIFE: Make People Count
• Pedestrian/passenger/bicyclists counts
• Activity mapping
• Age & gender surveys
• Qualitative Interviews
• Public space assessment
• Public Life Data Protocol
64%
19%17%
Public Life DataProtocol
Gehl — Making Cities for People
SPACE: ‘Life is what happens, when you are busy making other plans’ — John Lennon
Gehl — Making Cities for People
BUILDINGS:How can we achieve density with a human scale and public spaces of high quality?
Gehl - Making Cities for People
Measure what you care about
Gehl — Making Cities for People
The Gehl Public Life App. It is used on-site and observational
Inclusive and qualitative
Onsite observations of “All voices and behaviours”How many people move through a space? What modes of travel do they use?The age/gender of people present in places?How do people spend time in a space? What activities do they engage in?Who is spending time in a space — or not spending time — and how they are interacting?How does this patterns change throughout the day, the week and the year?
Gehl - Making Cities for People
Learn how people actually
behave—not how we think
they behave
User Experience
Design
Social + Behavioral Design
Gehl — Making Cities for PeopleGehl — Making Cities for People
Urban Transformations
Gehl — Making Cities for People
From 20th century focus on systems …
… to 21st centuryfocus on people
Gehl — Making Cities for People
Times Squareconsists of
89% road space
11% people space
Gehl — Making Cities for People
Times Square
Before
Gehl — Making Cities for People
Times Square
After
Gehl — Making Cities for People
17% improvements in travel time
11% increase in pedestrian numbers
63% decrease in pedestrian injuries
80% fewer pedestrians walking in roadway
74% say Times Square has improved dramatically
Gehl — Making Cities for People
Those earning less than $50,000 were much more likely to make new connections
Building empathy, agency & identity -by connecting people to their everyday street
Gehl — Making Cities for People
New York9th Avenue
Sept. 07
New York9th Avenue
July 07
From roadsto streets
Gehl — Making Cities for People
Gehl — Making Cities for People
Learnings from Shanghai | 2015
Learnings from Shanghai | 2015
Learnings from Shanghai | 2021
1/5
BEFORE
Learnings from Shanghai | 2015
Learnings from Shanghai | 2015
Learnings from Shanghai | 2021
Gehl — Making Cities for People
Creating an attractive destination!
Visiting in October 2019 with our local partner from ‘China Sustainable Transport Centre’
Gehl — Making Cities for People
Learnings from Shanghai | 2015
Learnings from Shanghai | 2015
Gehl — Making Cities for PeopleGehl — Making Cities for People
It is not about big cities – it is about people!
This approach can be applied in every neighborhood,
village, town or city
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Mobility is a driver of city transformation
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Mobility works whenit works for people.
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Mobility is (usually)a social experience.
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What’s best for all can be made easiest for each.
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Access is economic mobility.
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Mobility is place-interdependent.
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Human-scale mobility is climate strategy.
Gehl Architects
“In automobile-dependent communities, chauffeuring costs often exceed congestion costs...”
• And not everybody knows a driver...
Source: Evaluating Household Chauffeuring Costs, Todd Litman, 2015
9-15% of U.S. peak period
vehicle travel consist of parents
chauffeuring young children to school.
25% of the people that
potentially can travel on their own DON’T have access to cars.
Where rental options are placed
E
Where rental options could make the
biggest difference
Increase in access to jobs by transit
within 30 minutes due to mobility
0 300KJobs
Services are not evenly distributed.
Make Action PlansWhere it matter most for people
Environment, behavior, and socioeconomic factors shape 80% of a community’s health; Clinical care accounts for just 20%.
SOCIAL FACTORS
40%
CLINICAL CARE20%
INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIORS
30%
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTAir and water qualityHousingTransportation
10%
INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIORSDiet and exerciseTobacco useAlcohol and drug useSexual activity
SOCIAL FACTORSEducationEmploymentIncomeFamily and social supportCommunity safety
Source: County Health Rankings Model
PLACE RELATED
Designing Thrive Zones for our youngest residents2019
Gehl | Bernard van Leer Foundation | Copenhagen Solutions Lab | Google | UtrechtUniversity
90% of a child's brain develops before the age of 5.
Young children breathe 4x as fast as an adult and as a result inhale 4x more polluted air
Poor air quality especially damages young children's development of lungs and brain
Air quality is becoming one of our biggest problems in urban areas
Physical Activity
→Creating safe, inviting walking and
biking infrastructure
→Providing access to play and exercise
in everyday life
Social Connections
→Providing the stage for planned and
unplanned interactions with other
people in your community
→Creating safe and inviting places,
parks & streets
Environmental Health &
economic upward mobility
→Help reduce air pollution & reduces
emissions
→Connecting communities to complete
transport networks
→Provides access to healthy food
options, education & jobs
THE PROMISE OF PLACE
Place has a critical role to play in fostering health
Think holistically aboutmobility: - Physical - Social - Economic
‘Cycling is part of pedalling societies forward’
Gehl — Making Cities for PeopleGehl — Making Cities for People
In summary…
Gehl — Making Cities for People
Navigate change
The role of national + regional policies
The role of municipalities
The role of Transportation providers
Enabling Facilitating Providing a complete user experience
Regulating Approving Providing a services
SHARING THE PUBLIC SPACE
Gehl Architects
Potential angles in Leuven?
The resent development in Leuven is impressive!
Can you take it to the next level?
- Improving Health
- Tackling climate change
- Enable localism after Covid
- Improve quality of life for all
Gehl — Making Cities for People
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It is not aboutbicyclists -It’s aboutPEOPLE
Gehl — Making Cities for PeopleGehl — Making Cities for People
Thank you
gehlpeople.com#citiesforpeople @gehllive
