ABOUT THE FILM

SHORT SYNOPSIS

50% of the world’s population lives in urban areas. By 2050 this will increase to 80%. Life in a mega city is both enchanting and problematic. Today we face peak oil, climate change, loneliness and severe health issues due to our way of life. But why? The Danish architect and professor Jan Gehl has studied human behaviour in cities through 40 years. He has documented how modern cities repel human interaction, and argues that we can build cities in a way, which takes human needs for inclusion and intimacy into account.

TRAILER

LONG SYNOPSIS

Modern mega cities with human proportions - according to the groundbreaking Danish architect Jan Gehl. Gigantic systems of high-rise buildings and high ways. Humans who live their lives in separate concrete boxes. Life in the cities is modern and enchanting but how do we plan these cities in a way, which takes human behavior into account? The revolutionary architect Jan Gehl and his colleagues are on a mission, they want to bring cities to life. They want to design the cities in a way, which takes sustainability and human needs for inclusion and intimacy into account. They want to free the cities from the invasion of cars and thereby create space for pedestrians and bikeways. There is a need to 'Reclaim public space”. For 40 years the Danish architect Jan Gehl has systematically studied human behavior in cities. His starting point was an interest in people, more than buildings – in what he called Life Between Buildings. What made it exist? When was it destroyed? How could it be brought back? This lead to studies of how human beings use the streets, how they walk, see, rest, meet, interact etc. Jan Gehl also uses statistics, but the questions he asks are different. For instance: How many people pass this street throughout a 24 hour period? How many percent of those are pedestrians? How many are driving cars or bikes? How much of the street space are the various groups allowed to use? Is this street performing well for all its users? Jan Gehl made his first studies in Italy and later he inspired the planning of Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, for 40 years. His ideas inspired the creation of walking streets, the building and improvements of bike paths and the reorganization of parks, squares and other public spaces throughout this city and in many other cities in the Nordic region. Around the world cities like Melbourne, Dhaka, New York, Chongqing and Christchurch are now also being inspired by Gehl’s work and by the developments in Copenhagen. Modern cities like Melbourne in Australia had become car-based to the extent that the inner cities were dying out. In the evenings the streets were deserted and public life had almost disappeared. The city was called “a doughnut city” because its center had become totally empty. The city authorities, together with Gehl, started developing strategies to bring life back to the center. They redesigned a network of lane ways, which utilize alleys formerly used for parking and dustbins. The alleys were opened up, filled with cafes and shops - and people. The mood of the inner city was totally transformed.In Chongqing, China, the authorities have for the last 20 years copied the Western city model extensively and in a huge scale. But now both authorities and NGOs are starting to have doubts. Is this really the best solution? Will these cities be sustainable? The architect Kristian Villadsen, following Jan Gehl’s models, surveys the streets of Shanghai with Chinese students to understand how life unfolds. The surveys provide a foundation for raising questions such as: What kind of life does actually take place in these neighborhoods? Are there some qualities here we should retain? In Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka the problems are even more pressing. Extreme city growth rate combined with enormous poverty, the option of a duplication of the modern Western city model is not even available. There are simply too many people, too few resources and not enough space. The NGO Work for a Better Bangladesh (WBB Trust) is inspired by Gehl in their own struggle to keep authorities focused on creating sustainable solutions for all people, not just those who can afford a car.In New York Times Square has been transformed. Previously dominated by cars, the square has now given room to pedestrianized areas and chairs, where people hang out and chat in the sun. Inhabitants are cycling down Broadway on bike lanes.Asmallrevolutionhashappened,inspiredbysurveysmadeaccordingto Gehl’sideas.Theyrevealedthat90%ofthe space was taken up by cars, while 90% of the people were pedestrians. The authorities want to test a different approach. Many locals are at first outraged by the idea, but when they see it implemented, even as a pilot program, they start enjoying the new space – and utilize it for everything from chance encounters to snowball fights.In Christchurch, New Zealand a massive earthquake in 2011, leaves large parts of the city center completely devastated. The authorities has to start from scratch. Architect David Sim is invited to take part. A brainstorm process, in which the whole population is invited to contribute ideas about how they wish their city to be rebuilt, not results in thousands of constructive proposals and clear priorities. It also reveals the love the citizens have for their city. The grid of memories and history connects every individual to the architecture of the city. According to David Sim, a city is not just a combination of infrastructure, but a complex dynamic living organism. And that the whole idea of a master plan is part of the problem, not the solution. All the city planners and architects can do is provide frameworks for people and allow life to take place. The people are the starting point.The Human Scale is about people and cities. It shows us inhumane and dystopian pictures of megacities out of control. But at the same time the film illustrates architecture’s unique ability to create visual scenarios of a humane and sustainable future city-life. The Human Scale is an aesthetic experience: A relevant and inspiring film – both for decision-makers, architechts and a wider audience.The Human Scale is a science fiction documentary from a future, which is already present.“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us” - Winston Churchill

FILM FACTS

Duration: 77 mins

Genre: Documentary

Format: HD

Language: English or Danish, DK + UK subs

Screening formats available: DCP, BluRay, QT, DVD

Country: Denmark

Release: November 2012

Supported by Realdania

Google Sites

Report abuse