Jan Gehl

It’s no coincidence that children and older people feel comfortable in public spaces. For Prof. Jan Gehl, their presence is the most visible sign of a livable city.

For over 40 years, the architect, urban planner, and author has been working on rethinking urban life from a human perspective. His lecture, “Cities for People – Cities for All,” will be one of the program highlights at the SCHULBAU Think Tank Copenhagen on June 3, 2025.

City as a living space – for all generations

Jan Gehl is internationally recognized as a pioneer of urban planning that is not oriented toward vehicles, but toward the needs of people—whether they are on foot, by bicycle, or in a wheelchair. His thesis: Cities that work for children work for everyone. His work is intended as an invitation to design cities in such a way that movement, encounters, and safety become a matter of course.

Jan Gehl began transforming public space in Copenhagen, later followed by projects in metropolises such as Melbourne, New York, Sydney, and Moscow. The approach he helped to shape is pragmatic, feasible, and applicable worldwide – regardless of a municipality’s economic strength.

With books such as “Life Between Buildings” and “Cities for People,” he has influenced generations of architects and urban planners. His awards range from honorary doctorates in Edinburgh, Toronto, and Halifax to the Sir Patrick Abercrombie Medal from the UIA. As an Honorary Fellow, he is a member of numerous international architecture and planning institutes.

At the SCHULBAU Think Tank Copenhagen, Jan Gehl shares his perspective on educational buildings, urban spaces and social responsibility – an invitation to design cities where people can meet and grow.

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