Cities in Practice

What makes a city work for the people who actually live in it?
For twenty-five years, Gehl has explored that question one street, one square, one neighborhood at a time. Working with mayors, developers, foundations, and communities across six continents, Gehl looks at cities through a distinct way of seeing: the Gehl Lens—understanding cities through life, place, and experience, built on decades of observing how people move, meet, and belong in the places they inhabit.
Cities in Practice takes readers inside that way of working, case by case. A polluted Copenhagen harbor transformed into the city’s public heart after decades of patient investment. New York streets reclaimed from traffic through careful observation and political courage. Sixty kilometres of Shanghai riverfront returned to everyday life through a metropolitan-scale strategy. And one of Buenos Aires’ largest informal settlements recognized as part of the city, while building on the community already there.
Different challenges, different scales, different continents—but the same starting point:
Start with life.