THE FORM AND USE OF PUBLIC SPACE

People's activities can be classified broadly into necessary activities, optional individual activities, and social activities. Integration between all three of these types of activities is the key to making urban areas especially attractive. Many cities in North America have a very commercial and rational approach to people and public spaces; in contrast, some other cities, especially in Europe, have an almost opposite, people-oriented approach. This paper describes how the Danish city of Copenhagen was transformed gradually from a city with a car-oriented centre into a people-oriented city during the last 36 years. Copenhagen has pioneered methods for collecting useful data about the use of public space, and major surveys of the street life in the centre of Copenhagen were conducted in 1968, 1986, and 1996. The main findings of the surveys were as follows. More people now use the city's public spaces, pedestrian traffic has risen by 25%, and its (very important) recreational and social activities have increased by four times. The public spaces are being used in more active new ways. The quality of the public spaces is very important for the volume and character of life in them. All public spaces of good quality are being used intensively. The policy of developing public spaces gradually has been very successful. For the covering abstract, see IRRD E100781.

• Record URL:
  http://abstracts.aetransport.org/conference/index/id/4
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0860503119
• Corporate Authors:

  PTRC Education and Research Services Limited

  Glenthorne House, Hammersmith Grove
  London W6OL9,   England 
• Authors:
  • GEHL, J
• Conference:
  • Policy, planning and sustainability. Proceedings of seminar B held at AET European Transport Conference, Loughborough University, England, 14-18 September 1998. Volume P421
• Publication Date: 1998-9

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 193-8

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Conferences; Data collection; Improvements; Interviewing; Land use; Policy; Population; Quality control; Recreation; Sociology; Urban areas
• Uncontrolled Terms: Quality
• Geographic Terms: Denmark; Europe; United States
• ITRD Terms: 1243: Car; 8525: Conference; 8623: Data acquisition; 8028: Denmark; 8034: Europe; 9108: Improvement; 9147: Interview; 356: Land use; 173: Policy; 335: Population; 9063: Quality; 9142: Recreation; 2253: Sociology; 313: Urban area; 8122: USA
• Subject Areas: Policy; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00768700
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• ISBN: 0-86050-311-9
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Sep 10 1999 12:00AM