Health and Walkability: Case Study of Copenhagen
Published March 2018
How do cities affect our health? Recently I came across this app that measures the pollution in our cities called Air Visual. Travelling quite a lot for my job, I’ve become obsessed with going to different places and checking the air quality compared to my home in London. Scientist have long considered the lungs as vulnerable to air pollution. Unfortunately for people living in cities there is a high-risk living closer to roadways that pump continuous diesel into the air. In addition, cities can be places of lowliness and depression, in what really is a phenomenon of urban agglomeration – with people needing to be packed together with more people where their talents or labour needs are needed. This is a condition seen across both the favelas in Brazil to the skyscrapers of Tokyo. Copenhagen, in the Scandinavian Country of Denmark is a model for how healthy cities might be created across the world. This article will explore the case of Copenhagen, a city I visited for the first time last year, placing particular focus on walkability and the positive effect it can have on city dwellers wellbeing.
Over the past 40 years, enormous resources have been invested in the transportation networks connecting our cities: a major accomplishment given the dispersed population caused by urban sprawl. Not only does this network connect various communities, it is the primary mechanism that enables the transfer of cars (and people) from one locale to another. In fact, the extensive road network, low petrol prices, limited public transportation systems and dispersed settlements have made driving the preferred choice, which explains the high-level of vehicle ownership increase since about 1985. Not only has this improved communication between settlements, it has also increased access to schools and healthcare providers, and, as a consequence contributed to better quality of life indicators for residents.
However, infrastructural developments have also come with certain costs: in the case, a car-dependent culture that requires significant land use for roadways and reduced comfort for walking. Whilst it’s fair to say that governments tend to focus on road safety there is still a common trend to hear that people consider walking a dangerous things – particularly given the health and safety affects of being so close to automobiles. Stories of car-related pedestrian injuries and deaths are also not unusual. Hence, a number of measures have been undertaken by governments across the country in an effort to control this problem: higher fines and other penalties for traffic violations and an expanded use of surveillance cameras on roads and at intersections. These and other measures (generally targeting speeding and reckless driving) have been helpful, however, street design and public realm treatment also needs to be brought to the discussion around the planning of our cities also.
International research, and from my experience practicing in countries across the world, demonstrates that the design of neighbourhood, community and city is consistently linked with walking and cycling. Providing sidewalks and improving connectivity reduces the number of road traffic injuries, increases walking and improves accessibility to public transport. The UN-Habitat has specifically argued that promoting walkability is a key measure to bring people into public spaces, reduce congestion and boost local economy due to increased interactions. A vibrant street life encourages people to walk or cycle around, while a rational street network enables necessary city administrative services to be offered within walking and cycling distance and ensures security. Although most of these findings are from research in high-income countries in Australia, Europe and North America, evidence has begun to emerge from other parts of the world. Increasingly, cities around the Middle East and Asia are providing excellent examples of how our cities can be designed for walkability.
In 2013, non-profit organisation Walk21 declared Copenhagen the most walkable city in the world. The research showed that people spent more time walking each day – about 52 minutes per day in Copenhagen than any other city. The efforts date back as early as the 1960s, when Copenhagen began creating areas exclusive to pedestrians and cyclists, guided by the influential work of Danish architect Jan Gehl, who earned a worldwide reputation for enhancing urban life by redesigning cities towards people. Today, the city is renowned for its cycling and pedestrian networks – completed by an extremely efficient public transport system. For Danes, walking is not only a leisure activity, but also a means of mobility to jobs. Planners in Copenhagen see walking as a basic form of movement that is healthy and offers us the opportunity to use our senses. This effort is compiled with both bold urban design strategies, but in particular adapting the city to the various changing seasons.
During my visit to Copenhagen last summer, I spoke with representatives of Gehl Architects to understand how the city has adjusted to change so well. It was clear that people in Copenhagen weren’t walking for the sake of a walk – they usually had a goal in mind. Their view is that walking is healthy for all people of all ages and fits into most people’s daily lives, giving positive significance with regards to social, mental and physical health. Most famous in the strategies taken was the closing of Strøget into a pedestrian promenade in 1962. The number of pedestrians rose 35% in the first year alone… since then more streets have been converted for pedestrian traffic and city life, and one by one the parking places in the city centre have been turned into squares that accommodate public life. Many people were sceptical when Copenhagen first took this approach in a city so far north. Today Copenhagen has an extensive network of streets and paths where the inhabitants can walk.
Although Copenhagen might be seen as a model and not applicable to many parts of the world (in particular developing countries in the global south), the most critical aspect from learning from that example comes from a bold urban planning department that share a common goal of creating more liveable communities. Conversations around the subject of walkability have taken place for the past 40 years; however, even with these accomplishments the government still understands that much work needs to be done. This affirmation of the importance of establishing a shared vision for promoting physical health backed by firm political commitments at the highest level. The only way to do this is to ensure a whole-of-government approach to help coordinate a strategy for long-term improvements. Learning from this, it is important to establish new standards in parallel with building national expertise – including the humanising of projects in both new and existing urban communities.
Improving Walkability in the Gulf Region
Published July 2017
Over the past five-years, I have been heavily involved with a large-scale housing project in Bahrain. Although I should note this article by no means is attached to my professional experience working in Bahrain, for any visitor to the Gulf Region, it is fairly obvious that the Gulf (and the Middle East in general) is not a very pedestrian friendly place. This article aims to give some background to some of the barriers and recommendations on how to improve.
Whilst walkability seems like a relatively simple concept, it can, in fact, be incredibly complex, and something researchers have studied for decades. The majority of findings look at everything from streetscape characteristics, accessibility, perceived safety, health benefits and more. In general, it seems that a mix of higher density with lower traffic volumes and speeds, traffic-calming measures, mixed land use, shorter blocks and a high level of street connectivity are the way to improve the problem. However, placed in the context of the Middle East, where the summer months are nearly unbearable – climate must be considered.
In my opinion, newer areas in the Middle East almost seem to discourage walkability. Roads from four to six lanes are the norm, narrow pavements with no shade or variety are typical, and lack of enclosure due to wide streets and low-rise buildings are standard. In addition, and a particular problem due to the extreme heat, walking is discouraged due to little shade and blank walls that separate the houses from the public street (privacy is an important design element in Islamic societies). Even when footpaths are available, they are commonly obstructed, thereby reducing their usefulness. Consequently, pedestrians are often forced to walk in the street instead of on footpaths, even in areas where they exist. In addition, car exits / entries cutting into footpaths also cause a problem. It seems then that this type of poor planning has caused pushing residents in the Gulf Region to rely almost exclusively on cars.
By comparison, traditional neighbourhoods in the Gulf such as Muharraq in Bahrain are more or less walkable and should be used as a model for sustainability. The organic layout of these historic areas is based on walking – as they were built before the introduction of the automobile and include shaded pedestrian corridors called ‘sikkas’. These environments not only encourage people to walk as a regular mode of travel, creating lively streets while reducing traffic congestion, but also increase trade and economic activity. In addition, the social characteristics of these areas seem stronger, with people stopping to greet or talk to one another. Although these areas do not typically have large parks or green spaces like many newer developments – they do provide informal areas for playing – mostly seen in the spaces between buildings or streets. Is there any doubt this is more sustainable?
In addition to the design of cities, there also needs to be a review of the policy context faced and suggest ways to mitigate these challenges. Although some models stand out, such as the Abu Dhabi Urban Street Design Manual – a free online tool that adheres to improving walkability and safety, there is still much work needed. There needs to be new regulations in many parts of the Middle East to replace use based zoning and strip development - which has been applied for the past half century or so - with a model based on shorter blocks, overlapping utility corridors to reduce right of ways, and creating development control guidelines that improve street enclosure. More importantly, governmental authorities need to have funding and legal frameworks available to improve pedestrian conditions, which at the moment seem to be focused on projects with the aim of moving motorised vehicles quickly.
The benefits of this approach are endless; however with weak policy frameworks, unsupportive infrastructure standards and a transportation environment that is more focused on vehicles than people – unfortunately, lots of work is still needed. There is, however, tremendous opportunity for the designers and planner of our future or existing urban areas to build better places for pedestrians. Decision makers do however need to show real leadership and make investments in pedestrian-friendly environments in the Gulf Region. There are though such leaders and I’m optimistic of the positive change in cities there locally.
In summary then, pedestrians are of vital importance to what makes a city unique, and yet face many obstacles to their safety. Those problems cannot, however, be adequately addressed by planners without first establishing new regulations and funding models that support walkable cities. Perhaps taking lessons from more traditional neighbourhoods is the answer, but this needs to consider modern infrastructure needs. A separate article in itself…
Jamie Lerner: Architect of a City
Published March 2017
It seems strange writing my second article about another individual that inspired my career. However the story of Jamie Lerner is more than the story of an individual – it’s the story of an architect, turned planner, who changed the face of Latin America.
Lerner studied architecture at a young age and worked as an activist to improve the municipal planning in his home of Curitiba - now Brazil’s seventh largest city and the capital of Parana. He served three non-consecutive terms as mayor before moving over to the statehouse for two terms as governor. During more than three decades in politics, he developed a style of urban planning that has become a model for rebuilding cities such as Kabul and New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Lerner calls this planning approach ‘urban acupuncture’ as a way to pinpoint interventions.
In 2006, I had the pleasure to study abroad in Curitiba with the University of Florida in collaboration with the Universidad do Parana. Here we learned first hand some of the interventions to planning Lerner undertook in his term as governor. Most notably was Curitiba’s bus system, with its trademark clear tubes for boarding, is argued by some to be the most innovative transit model since the invention of the first railroad and has since been adopted in 126 cities around the globe because of its four-decade success in Curitiba. Lerner found that changes to a city don’t need to be large-scale and expensive to have a transformative impact. This pioneering concept was seen before the days of tactical urbanism and is quick to create, cheaper many times over and easier to operate than an underground metro system, plus has become a proven way to shape the growth of a city sustainably without urban sprawl.
To understand however the full significance of this concept to planning it’s important to understand why such innovation was needed. For centuries, the city was little more than an outpost for travellers moving between Sao Paulo and the surrounding agricultural regions of Parana. When European immigration hit southern Brazil, the area became a major growth area. Germans, Polish, Italians and Ukrainians started arriving in 1830 and by 1870 each group occupied a section of the city, developing their own local identities and beginning to populate the downtown area. By the 1940s the growth of the city was impossible to contain and favelas grew around the city, cars jammed into the centre and crime level (particularly amongst the youth) started to rise. In 1964 planners started soliciting a new master plan to guide growth and allow for the automobile, but as usual in city plans of this scale, nothing happened.
Lerner’s first project in 1972 earned him an early reputation as an enforcer. He proposed turning the Rua Quinze de Novembro from an automobile thoroughfare into a pedestrian mall, which even in today’s terms would be a radical idea. There was however big resistance from shopkeepers with much remonstration. So Lerner took the plan to his Director of Public Works, saying: “I need this built in 48 hours”, but the Director said it would take at least four months. Regardless, Lerner and his team started work at sundown and delivered the project in 72 hours. In many ways this encompasses his planning philosophy of ‘urban acupuncture’: act now - adjust later.
Early in my career these planning philosophies really rang a bell, but of course, such interventions come with problems as well. Lerner was focusing less on the big projects, but more on the details of sustainable development. It’s also a way to depend less on policy makers and develop interventions quickly. Even the best urban policies won’t last forever unless maintained with vigilance and care. Sadly, during my time in Curitiba, I started to understand it is not a perfect utopia. The bus system has seen diminishment and has also become overcrowded in recent years. This has forced city planners to start thinking about alternatives in addition to the bus system.
Even with these faults, however, Lerner was a driving force behind such innovative urban projects. In his more than forty years of working in cities around the globe (now in his own private practice in Curitiba), in 2014 I had the opportunity to meet up with him again in Birmingham at the Academy of Urbanism Congress. He said something that again rang a bell. When discussing with him my work as a master planner and urban designer, he told to remember that plans don’t have to be implemented as one single strategic vision. They can be developed block by block, as a single park, or even a single person that can have an outsized effect on life in the surrounding city.
Lerner is quoted saying “politics is about providing a collective dream and creating a scenario that everyone can understand and see – then they will make it happen”. It’s important then to remember that cities are not owned or run by administrations, but rather the people and populations that live in them. His passion for planning is really a love for the elements that make a street hum with life or a neighbourhood feel like home. It’s not the drawing that is produced, but the ability to make change locally.
These are important principles that I’ve instilled into my career in planning. Looking back at my time living in Curitiba, I don’t think the impact was fully realised until I started practising. It’s become an exemplar that I saw first hand early in my studies.
The Genius of Ian McHarg
Published August 2016
It’s hard to think of a better way to start publishing articles than by paying respect to one of the most influential landscape planners in my career. Ian McHarg, a landscape architect, planner and teacher wrote one of the most enduring books on environmental planning – titled ‘Design With Nature’ (1969) – which urged landscape planners and developers to conform to environmental ecology, not compete with it.
From reading about McHarg’s, who was born in Clydebank and raised in Glasgow, I was really struck with how he originally got into the profession. In his 1996 memoir, he describes taking 30-mile hikes from the city to the countryside. Along the way he experienced the sharp contrast between the grimy industrial cityscapes to the rural greenery, and quickly developed a passion for the latter. This love for the outdoors and his ability to draw motivated him to become a landscape architect. He had an amazing career both in academia and practice – forming the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and founding Wallace McHarg Roberts and Todd (WMRT) – outstanding achievements to say the least.
His genius however was occasionally a curse, but his influence has reached much further than even he probably ever imagined. He sometimes became involved in complicated, costly projects, including an environmental theme park for the Shan of Iran in Tehran. As sometimes seen in such great designers, his vision was generally not matched with his business judgment, and he ran up debts through much of his life. However, for me as a young student at the University of Florida, McHarg will forever be one of the most influential individuals in my career. His work Design with Nature was one of the first books that made me develop an interest in landscape architecture, and allowed me to view it more aligned with planning than plantings.
McHarg had a certain genius to his work that was very advanced during that point in history. He created maps (before the days of GIS) that were used as tools for looking at the bigger picture. Each piece of information was a layer – water, topography, pavement, utility lines – and we turn on layers, either one at a time or overlapping them, to illustrate the built environment. Mapping to me remains such a powerful tool for informing us about the physical and social evolution of modern day townscapes. For three decades, he provoked others to frame questions and pose answers concerning the relationship between landscape architecture and environmentalism.
McHarg’s ideas still remain true to me today and as one of the most influential founding theorist in my career enjoyed writing this article. Today planners and landscape architects are constantly faced with the question of balancing economic development and environment, but McHarg illustrated a how to so clearly in Design with Nature that it’s hard not to agree with him. For anyone that hasn’t read Design with Nature, I would highly recommend it as an valuable introductory text on land planning as it’s difficult to think what landscape architecture would be without him.