Jan Gehl - 1,2

LIFE_BETWEEN_BUILDINGS
THE BOOK SPEAKS ABOUT

Outdoor activities,
and a number of the physical conditions that influence them,
are
the subject of this book.
Physical environment is one of the factors:
a factor that influences the activities to a
varying degree and in many different ways.
LIFE BETWEEN BUILDINGS
_Three Types of Outdoor Activities

_Life Between Buildings
_Outdoor Activities and Quality of Outdoor Space
_Outdoor Activities and Architectural Trends
_Life Between Buildings – in Current Social Situations
_Three Types of Outdoor Activities
A Street Scene
Three types of outdoor activities
Necessary activities Optional activities Social activities

– under all conditions – only under favorable exterior conditions
_Life Between Buildings
Life between buildings comprises

the entire spectrum of activities, which combine to
make communal spaces in cities and residential areas meaningful
and attractive.
Both necessary, functional activities and optional, recreational

activities have been examined quite thoroughly over the years
in different contexts. Social activities and their interweaving to
form a communal fabric have received considerably less attention.
NEED FOR CONTACT
Life between buildings offers an opportunity to be with others
in a relaxed and undemanding way.
The modest “see and hear contacts” must be considered in relation to other forms of
contact and as part of the whole range of social activities, from very simple and
noncommittal contacts to complex and emotionally involved connections.
– contact at a modest level

– a possible starting point for contact at other levels
– a possibility for maintaining already established contacts
– a source of information about the social world outside
– a source of inspiration, an offer of stimulating experience
THE POSSIBILITY….
Low-intensity contact is also a situation from which other forms

of contact can grow. It is a medium for the unpredictable, the
spontaneous, the unplanned.
WE KNOW….
Through the mass media we are informed about the larger,

more sensational world events, but by being with others we
learn about the more common but equally important details.
We discover how others work, behave, and dress, and we obtain
knowledge about the people we work with, live with, and so forth.
By means of all this information we establish a confident relationship
with the world around us. A person we have often met on
the street becomes a person we “know.”
THE NEED FOR STIMULATION…

Experiencing other people represents a particularly colorful
and attractive opportunity for stimulation.
The number of new situations and new stimuli is limitless.

Furthermore,
it concerns the most important subject in life: people.
If life between buildings is given favorable conditions through
sensible planning of cities and housing areas alike, many costly
and often stilted and strained attempts to make buildings
“interesting” and rich by using dramatic architectural effects can
be spared.
Life between buildings is both more relevant and more interesting

to look at in the long run than are any combination of
colored concrete and staggered building forms.
ACTIVITY OF ATTRACTION…
Wherever there are people – in buildings, in neighborhoods,

in city centers, in recreational areas, and so on – it is generally
true that people and human activities attract other people.
People are attracted to other people. They gather with and move
about with others and seek to place themselves near others. New
activities begin in the vicinity of events that are already in
progress.
“people come where people
are.”
If given a choice between walking on a deserted or a lively street,

most people in most situations will choose the lively street. If the
choice is between sitting in a private backyard or in a semiprivate
front yard with a view of the street, people will often choose the
front of the house where there is more to see
The most used benches are along the garden’s main path, where there is a good
view of the particularly active areas, while the least used benches
are found in the quiet areas of the park. In various places, benches
are arranged back to back, so that one of the benches faces a path
while the other “turns its back.” In these instances it is always the
benches facing the path that are used.
A summary of observations and investigations shows that people
and human activity are the greatest object of attention and
interest.
Even the modest form of contact of merely seeing and

hearing or being near to others is apparently more rewarding
and more in demand than the majority of other attractions
Offered in the public spaces of cities and residential areas.
Life in buildings and between buildings seems in nearly all

situations to rank as more essential and more relevant than the
spaces and buildings themselves.
_Outdoor Activities and Quality of Outdoor Space
Life between buildings is discussed here because the extent and character of outdoor
activities are greatly influenced by physical planning.
The spectrum of possibilities can be described by two

extremes.
One extreme is the city with multistory buildings,
underground
parking facilities, extensive automobile traffic, and long
distances
Another
betweenextreme
buildingsisand
the functions.
city with reasonably low, closely spaced
buildings, accommodation for foot traffic, and good areas for
outdoor stays along the streets and in direct relation to residences,
public buildings, places of work, and so forth.
Each quality improvement in the city
of Copenhagen has been closely followed by an increase
in the use of the public spaces. The improvements have
– literally speaking – given room to a much wider range
of human activities.
While the city population has not increased the
interest in using public spaces passively and actively
definitely has.
William H. Whyte, in his book The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces ,
describes the close connection between qualities of city space and city activities and documents how often
quite Simple physical alterations can improve the use of the city space noticeably.
_Outdoor Activities and Architectural Trends
_Life Between Buildings – in Current Social Situations
Typical demands include better

conditions for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, better conditions
for children and the elderly and a better framework in general
for recreational and social community functions.
The very revival of the city as a major architectural objective, including the careful planning
of public spaces – streets, squares, parks – interprets and channels the wave of popular protest.
PREREQUISITES FOR PLANNING
_Processes and Projects

_Senses, Communication, and Dimensions
_Life Between Buildings – A Process
_Processes and Projects
_The senses and communication
Familiarity with human senses – the way they function and the
areas in which they function – is an important prerequisite for
designing and dimensioning all forms of outdoor spaces and
building layouts.
SMELLING_ HEARING_ SEEING

1M 7M 0.5KM
Intimate distance (0 to 45 centimeters – 0 to 1½ ft.) is the
distance
at which intense feelings are expressed: tenderness, comfort,
love,
and also strong distance (0.45 to 1.30 meters – 1½ to 4½ ft.) is the
anger.
Personal
conversation
distance between close friends and family. An example is the
distance between people at the family dinner table.
Social distance (1.30 to 3.75 meters – 4½ to 12 ft.) is the distance
for ordinary conversation among friends, acquaintances, neighbors,
co-workers, and so on. The sofa group with armchairs and
a coffee table is a physical expression of this social distance.
public distance (greater than 3.75 meters – 12 ft.) is defined as the distance
used in
more formal situations – around public figures or in teaching situations with
one-way communication or when someone wants to hear or see an event but
Physical planning for isolation and contact
It is important that all meaningful social activities, intense experiences,

conversations, and caresses take place when people are standing, sitting, lying
down, or walking. One can catch a brief glimpse of others from a car or from a
train window, but life takes place on foot. Only “on foot” does a situation function
as a meaningful opportunity for contact and information in which the individual is
at ease and able to take time to experience,
pause, or become involved.
By working with these five principles individually or in combinations,

it is possible to establish the physical prerequisites for isolation
and contact, respectively.
_Life Between Buildings – A Process
Life between buildings is potentially a self-reinforcing process. When someone begins to do

something, there is a clear tendency for others to join in, either to participate themselves or just
to experience what the others are doing.

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LIFE_BETWEEN_BUILDINGS

THE BOOK SPEAKS ABOUT

_Three Types of Outdoor Activities

Three types of outdoor activities

Necessary activities Optional activities Social activities

Life between buildings comprises

Both necessary, functional activities and optional, recreational

– contact at a modest level

Low-intensity contact is also a situation from which other forms

Through the mass media we are informed about the larger,

THE NEED FOR STIMULATION…

The number of new situations and new stimuli is limitless.

Life between buildings is both more relevant and more interesting

Wherever there are people – in buildings, in neighborhoods,

If given a choice between walking on a deserted or a lively street,

Even the modest form of contact of merely seeing and

Life in buildings and between buildings seems in nearly all

The spectrum of possibilities can be described by two

Typical demands include better

_Processes and Projects

SMELLING_ HEARING_ SEEING

It is important that all meaningful social activities, intense experiences,

By working with these five principles individually or in combinations,

Life between buildings is potentially a self-reinforcing process. When someone begins to do

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