Last weekend the project team was on-site, for the first time during the intervention, to observe and measure public life at SplashJam. It will take some time to analyze the surveys and observation data, but there is much to share…
At Act Urban 2016 in Philadelphia, a recurring theme of the discussions was the importance of exposure to differences. Research in anthropology, psychology and sociology has proven that a high degree of social mixing fosters understanding, tolerance and respect between…
As US society becomes more polarized between rich and poor, and cities grapple with the strains of economic inequality, public space remains a place where people with mixed backgrounds and incomes can come together. Diversity and serendipity is core to our cities’ economic competitiveness,…
In early 2017, Gehl Institute invited community design organizations to apply to its Open Call program: Proposals for Public Life. The program was designed to offer trainings on how to use our public life tools, and provided up to $10,000…
This is Part 1 in our series on Gehl Institute’s Open Call: Proposals for Public Life. Throughout Summer 2017, we provided technical assistance to three community design organizations working in public space. The Neighborhood Design Center (NDC) offers free design…
Gehl Institute is thrilled to announce the winners of our Open Call: Proposals for Public Life competition! This summer, we trained three equity-focused design teams to deploy the tools we’ve developed (some tried and true, others newer and more experimental)…
A conversation with Ewa Westermark and Julia D Day about NYC’s Plazas and Gehl’s ongoing evaluation of their social impact
Does Inviting for Kids Increase Socioeconomic Diversity?Will making public spaces better for children increase the socioeconomic diversity of visitors? In partnership with a local NYC plaza manager, we are measuring how making public space more inviting to children might increase…