What the Pedestrian Wants - International Federation of Pedestrians

NovaTerra / jaargang 6 / nummer 1 / april 2006 / 35
Mismatch between 5 km per hour and 60 km per hour signposting.
influences the exchange of information and
In contrast to this ‘slow’ architecture, the
a conceptual model for pedestrian movement.
quality of communication in urban space,
60 km per hour architecture along the roads
Delft University of Technology, one of the
and thus its legibility. Stressing this difference
used by vehicles is short on detail and signs
research partners in the project, has already
in the speed of movement, Gemzøe refers
are large and simple to allow easy
conducted field studies in Norwich (October
to the research paper he wrote with Gehl
communication of information.
2005) and Rouen (December 2005) that focus
at the Centre for Public Space Research in
on the user’s experience. The ambition is to
Copenhagen: ‘Close Encounters with
According to Gemzøe, some European city
integrate street interviews with electronic
Buildings’. ‘While our perception of public
centres originally characterised by ‘slow’
surveillance, such as GPS tests and video
space naturally depends on viewpoint and
architecture have been invaded by cars,
observations, to enable the movement
distance, the speed at which we move is
leading to a ‘perceptive gap’. Some parts of
patterns of the visitor to be documented and
crucial. Rooted in its biological history, the
these centres present a rather blank three-
understood more precisely and effectively.
human sensory apparatus is designed to
dimensional surrounding that contains
perceive and process sensory impressions
insufficient detail for a user on foot.
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while moving at about 5 km per hour.’
‘This mismatch needs to be overcome if
He went on to describe the difference
between 5 km per hour architecture and
60 km per hour architecture. The first
corresponds to our walking pace. On this
scale the viewer’s interaction with the
environment is more intimate: you can smell,
hear and feel all the details. Signals and signs
are viewed at a close range and so they can
be small and refined. Walking becomes even
the experience of the pedestrian perceiver
is not to be compromised.’
conceptual model
Copenhagen’s consistent urban design
policies dating from the 1960s and the works
of Professor Gemzøe provide a source of
inspiration for the EU Spatial Metro project,
which aims to provide a way of making city
References
– Cullen, Gordon. The Concise Townscape. London:
the Architectural Press, 1961.
– Gehl, Jan., ‘Close Encounters with Buildings’, Centre
for Public Space Publication, Copenhagen, 2005
(translated from ‘Naerkontakt med huse’ Danish
architectural Magazine: Arkitekten 9/2004).
– Gemzøe, Lars. Public Spaces Public Life. Copenhagen:
The Danish Architectural Press, 1996.
– Lynch, Kevin. The Image of the City. Cambridge, USA:
MIT Press, 1960.
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more appealing if the details and displays
centres legible and navigable for visitors and
along the way are carefully crafted, and if
local people. Like Gemzøe’s work, this project
there are things to smell and touch so that
tries to understand the pedestrian’s
all the senses are engaged at some point.
experience of historic city centres and adopt