Educational Media Reviews Online

The Human Scale asks the question, “What is the scale for measuring happiness in a city?” The film analyzes whether cities of the modern world are an appropriate habitat for humans. It focuses on the ideas of Jan Gehl, a Danish architect specializing in improving the quality of urban life. In modern city planning, cities and houses were conceived as machines for living which, Gehl argues, kills city life. The film explores six urban areas on four continents: Copenhagen, Denmark; New York City; Chongqing, China; Melbourne, Australia; Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Christchurch, New Zealand.

The urbanized Copenhagen of the 1960s was lacking in life, facilitating isolated lifestyles. Gehl documented the changes in public life in Copenhagen over the years as more streets became pedestrianized, as opposed to structured for cars. Public life multiplied as space opened. New York City was also designed for traffic efficiency, but Times Square was used the opposite way for which it was planned—instead of 90% cars, 10% people, it was used by 90% people, 10% cars. In 2007, after a study of the people of Manhattan, the Broadway intersections were closed to traffic and turned into squares. Latent needs for bike traffic and pedestrian activity manifested themselves. Since the change, Manhattan has seen a 63% decrease in traffic related injuries. Chongqing, the fastest growing city in China, saw similar improvements with new pedestrian routes were implemented.

The film emphasizes small changes over time to experiment with the needs of the people, doing more with less, as well as looking for space that already exists, but may be disguised, and transforming it into a human space. With Melbourne’s suburbs expanding in the 1980s, the city was in decline until Gehl Architects saw potential in its narrow laneways. These alleys were opened up, populated with cafes serving as outdoor living spaces, and the dying Melbourne was revitalized.

The 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand destroyed its downtown, allowing a unique opportunity to build a city from scratch. Gehl Architects surveyed the populace for ideas, discovering their wish for a low-rise city, oriented for people rather than cars, although city policy makers chose not to implement the requested height limit. The film questions what would happen if Dhaka, Bangladesh, the fastest growing city in the world, faced a similar earthquake. The city used to be comparable to Venice until heavy migration caused its population to balloon. Activists condemn the city policies that favor cars over pedestrians and job-creating rickshaw traffic, exposing the risk when city policies are out of touch with people.

The case study format of the film, showing footage of urban areas before and after these changes, illuminates how Gehl’s ideas for organic living in cities can be applied to environments worldwide that face similar issues. The Human Scale is an excellent call for a new paradigm in urban design that will facilitate life in public places, rather than stifle it. Viewers might come away asking the question, “What could be done to improve the quality of life in my own urban environment?”