New City Life
de Jan Gehl
"New City Life tells the story of the gradual development of industrial society's essential city life to the elective city life of a leisure and consumer society. Where city life was once a necessity and taken for granted, today it is an option. For that very reason this is also the story of a transition from time when the quality of city space did not play much of a role in its use to a new situation in which quality is a crucial parameter. Contemporary experience shows that when quality city space is provided it attracts an extensive and multifaceted city life with many new features that reflect the changes in society. Now as before city space is the framework for people's meetings, the society and each other. In a society where concepts such as democracy, diversity and security are important dimensions, the extended use of city space must be seen as a valuable advance. And for the same reason, modern requirements for good city space quality must be honoured. Now as before, facilitating the meeting between people is the most important collective function of the city. New city life with its demands for good city space is a new guise for one of the most important aspects of city culture. This book is based on the comprehensive and detailed study of city life in Copenhagen over the past four decades, conducted by the Center for Public Space Research at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts." -- back cover.
