“Make People Happy, Not Cars”

Jan Gehl is regarded as one of the world’s most influential urban planners. He was a decisive force in making his hometown of Copenhagen into the famously bike-friendly city it is today. Now an emeritus professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Gehl has shaped urban planning in such cities as St. Petersburg, New York and Melbourne. His goal has always been the same: turning cities that are often no more than parking lots for cars into liveable environments, places where people gather and meet.

In an interview with Agora Verkehrswende, Gehl observes that the transformation of the transport sector is already underway in many cities, but municipal planners often lack a strategy for supporting it. He believes that liveable cities not only are good for people but also for promoting economic development.

The interview is 15 minutes long and in English.