This book is the Turkish translation of Cities for People, originally published by Island Press.

During modern urbanization, it has not been possible to preserve the human-oriented design principles of the pre-industrial period, the relationship between the workplace and housing, production-transportation technologies, and the rhythm of social life, and consequently the quality of the space was damaged. What has been lost constitutes the blind spots of modernity narratives that never become prominent in the agenda.

Jan Gehl argues that modern urban textures are not without alternatives, that we do not have to settle for problems, negativities can be alleviated with a human-oriented and scale-sensitive urban design approach, and that lost values can be recovered. In Cities for People, he makes this approach concrete with a meaningful, succinct, legible, persuasive narrative, and through stimulating visuals.

The translation of the work is undoubtedly a significant achievement in terms of professional practices. However, as İlhan Tekeli emphasizes in his preface, Gehl’s contribution goes much further. While focusing on urban design, Cities for People provides important clues for thinking about, conceptualizing, and evaluating new public spaces and their publicness, and for the formation of unbroken urban communities.

Cities for People is an original and valuable reference book for both designers and for public space practices, and efforts for everyday urban and local democracy.

-Prof. Dr. Murat Güvenç

Jan Gehl has taught at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts for many years. He has developed improvement projects for major cities of the world such as Copenhagen, Stockholm, Rotterdam, London, Amman, Melbourne, Sydney, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York. He is an honorary member of the Royal Institute of Architects of Britain (RIBA), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), and the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA).

The Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) Great Places Book Award 2011

PLANETIZEN – Top 10 Books 2011

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Most influential books on sustainable cities