Placemaking – Cities For People
05 February 2008
The Lulu Series - Art in the City
Date: Thursday, February 28, 2008 Time: 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm Location: City Hall - City of Richmond
Council Chambers
6911 No. 3 Road, Richmond, BCAdmission: FREE - Please RSVP at 604 247-8320 or suzanne.greening@richmond.ca References: Colour PDF Poster
North America is finally coming to grips with the term “limits to growth”. In response to an awareness of global warming and urban sprawl is the notion that the automobile just might not be the friend that we once thought it was. Increasingly, North American cities are looking for strategies to reintroduce people and urban life to their downtown cores. The City of Richmond is no exception! Using the soon-to-be-commissioned Canada Rapid Transit Line as the catalyst, Richmond is undergoing a major initiative to construct vibrant, varied and people-friendly Urban Villages within its midst.
Guest Speaker: Jan Gehl, Professor, Dr. Litt.
Principal, Gehl Architects, Copenhagen DK
Jan Gehl is one of the world's foremost experts on urban placemaking – essentially designing places for people to thrive in. The fact that he and his colleagues at Gehl Architects describe their service as “Urban Quality Consultants” speaks volumes to the fact that Gehl sets the bar higher than most others in his profession.
Gehl earned his BA and MA in Architecture from the School of Architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and in the intervening years worked both as an architect and as Professor of Urban Design. In 1998 the new Center for Public Space Research was established at the School of Architecture with Gehl as the Director. He was instrumental in transforming Copenhagen literally into a city of pedestrians and bicycles.
Gehl is the author of many benchmark books on urban vitality – and among them. He is a tireless traveler, and very engaging speaker, bringing his message of hope for public spaces to cities in need around the world. Perhaps his best know quote is “Public Spaces, Public Life”, “New City Spaces” “New City Life” a City is not buildings alone; it is the Spaces Between that matter most
This is a free public lecture and seating is limited. Please RSVP at 604 247-8320 or suzanne.greening@richmond.ca
