Designing Streets as Public Places in Cold Climates

I'm reposting a video of a hugely interesting presentation given last month by Kristian Villadsen of Gehl Architects at McGill University in Montreal. Mr. Villadsen makes a number of important points about designing streets on a scale for pedestrians, creating beneficial microclimates, giving priority to bike lanes for snow removal, and cultivating a year-round "culture of public life". He brings numerous examples from Copenhagen, as well as Beijing, Sweden, New York City & even Greenland. Hopefully, Chicago's planners are taking copious notes.


via copenhagenize