Showing posts with label Copenhagen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Copenhagen. Show all posts
26 July 2010
Copenhagen Through North American Eyes
This is a recent Streetfilms video about cycling in Copenhagen through North American eyes. It was filmed during the 2010 Velo City global bike conference that just finished in Copenhagen. (Oh how I wish I could have been there! I just got back some beautiful black and white photos that I took in Copenhagen last fall/winter and am feeling a tad nostalgic.)
Much of what you see in this video is the result of technical solutions to problems around making cities (and Copenhagen in particular) more livable and bike friendly. As you will see in the video, it was a process that has taken shape over 40 years and much to the credit of Jan Gehl. I say "technical" because of an interesting conversation I had with a friend a few weeks ago about urban planning and the issue of technical solutions to fundamentally political problems. More on that another time.
Enjoy the video. The soothing, meditative music is a nice touch!
21 March 2010
Creating Culture and Inviting the Use of Public Space
A few days ago I watched a video of an excellent presentation given by Kristian S. Villadsen from Gehl Architects called Designing Streets as Public Spaces in Northern Climate Cities. The presentation was part of a conference held at McGill University and put on by the Montréal Urban Ecology Centre.
Gehl Architects is an urban planning and design consultancy firm located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded by Jan Gehl who wrote the classic Life Between Buildings, and whose work has inspired and influenced the redevelopment of Copenhagen towards a more pedestrian and cycling friendly city.
The video I found originally posted on copenhagenize.com, which I have come to learn is a term coined by Jan to describe the Copenhagenization of other cities.
What I found most interesting and inspiring about this presentation is the idea that a thriving pedestrian and cycling culture can be created by good urban design. While we might think that cities like Copenhagen have always been the cycling wonders that they are today, this video shows how it was a conscious effort to reclaim the streets and public spaces from cars and redesign them to promote their use by people. What this all means for Toronto is that a great cycling infrastructure is possible.
The video is about an hour long and well worth the watch.
Enjoy!
Gehl Architects is an urban planning and design consultancy firm located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded by Jan Gehl who wrote the classic Life Between Buildings, and whose work has inspired and influenced the redevelopment of Copenhagen towards a more pedestrian and cycling friendly city.
The video I found originally posted on copenhagenize.com, which I have come to learn is a term coined by Jan to describe the Copenhagenization of other cities.
What I found most interesting and inspiring about this presentation is the idea that a thriving pedestrian and cycling culture can be created by good urban design. While we might think that cities like Copenhagen have always been the cycling wonders that they are today, this video shows how it was a conscious effort to reclaim the streets and public spaces from cars and redesign them to promote their use by people. What this all means for Toronto is that a great cycling infrastructure is possible.
The video is about an hour long and well worth the watch.
Enjoy!
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