[Abstract] Designing Cities for People & Planet: From Vision to Impact
"Designing Cities for People & Planet: From Vision to Impact"
• Brief introduction of our mission at Gehl (Making Cities for People), incl. working for cities and communities to be equitable, healthy and sustainable places for all.
• Argue why urban design must shift from infrastructure-led models to human-centered approaches and call for holistic approaches that not only aim at good design of public spaces but also contribute to greater societal goals.
• Today a stronger focus on “all life”/our planet the past couple of years to enable climate action and impact, though our approach to planning and design and “old” principles remains the same and are just as relevant today.
• Across the world, we’re in a time of poly-crisis (climate change, energy transition, urban security) and since 70% of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2050, we need a new urban approach.
• Helle will argue about the need for climate-aligned urbanism and that we at Gehl dare to believe that averting the worst of climate change can bring out the best in cities.
• Illustrate how this will impact and change the way residents move, consume and live – with more time in active mobility together, more sharing of resources and more shared spaces.
• Presentation of case studies of urban transformation and positive impact (social infrastructure & climate-aligned urbanism):
- Shanghai river – connecting people and the river
- George street Sydney – enhancing walkability and less cars
- Århus waterfront – from ships to vibrant, public space incl public bassin
- Buenos Aires – repurposing infrastructure for people
- Castro Street, California – from cars to pedestrian plaza during covid
• Additional learnings from studies on how to create places where people choose to stay, interact, and belong (Havens, hubs & hangouts).
Supported by smaller case studies in residential areas:
- Al Falah Village, Abu Dhabi – early childhood activation (play & well-being)
- Bus stop, dense neighbourhood & greening of courtyards, Copenhagen (biodiversity, reducing pollution & well-being
• Seoul’s Pathway to Global Top 5 Cities - Recommendations:
- Seek inspiration from 8 principles developed as part of new Danish Architecture Policy; including making room for nature in cities and pursuing a holistic approach to planning of the built environment.
- Tie climate investments to health, equity, and economic development goals that climate-aligned urbanism is better at delivering. Examples such as:
o City of Bologna (UNESCO), Italy – focus on urban heat islands and how to address this
o New National Urban Design Guidelines in e.g. Saudi Arabia include climate specific goals
o London, UK - a climate-adaptation angle was requested when Gehl in 2020 updated a Public Realm Strategy first developed in 2006.
- Strong collaboration across cities and design leaders, municipalities, institutions and private companies is pertinent to scale the effect and adapt to the climate challenges we face and to ensure we develop healthy and resilient cities with focus on people, place and planet.
• Concluding message:
- Embrace the urgency of the need to discontinue the infrastructure led urban development and rather circulate (restore, reuse, reactivate and transform) and scale the effect of a life first approach to urban futures and green & just impact over time.
- This will serve as a great platform for growing Seoul as a global model city and making the future of Seoul irresistible
• Invitation for continued collaboration between design leaders and the City of Seoul
Helle Søholt is the driving force behind Gehl’s 25 year journey delivering people-first urban development the world over. From San Francisco’s Market Street to Shanghai’s Huangpu Waterfront to Sydney’s George Street, Helle has ensured an eye-level, human scale touch to many a public realm. Described as a pragmatic idealist, Helle is responsible for the direction of around 120 employees, situated in Copenhagen, New York, San Francisco and a growing number of local market locations.
From theory to practice, the Gehl consultancy has built a leading knowledge base and prize winning portfolio within urban strategy, design, landscape design, mobility and public life data. Today, you will find Helle focused on expanding Gehl’s digital service offer with a range of proprietary public life observation apps, progressing health, equity and sustainability impacts in rapidly developing cities and urban areas, and leading Gehl’s knowledge development across social infrastructure, foodscapes, and the future of retail themes, amongst others.
Helle is Gehl CEO and Founding Partner, Chair of the Board of BLOXhub - Denmark’s leading urban innovation hub for built environment companies, and appointed member of the committee for the new National Architecture Policy launched in Denmark in April 2025. Helle is a prominent speaker on urban development and governance issues.
