Lessons from 'The Human Scale'

How can we redirect our city building into a form that can handle the expected doubling of urban residents over the next 40 years? Great ideas can be found in this collection of soundbites from the film, "The Human Scale."

1 minute read

February 17, 2015, 12:00 PM PST

By Scott Doyon


A sign for pedestrians and cars

Elliott Brown / Flickr

"We have known this about the motorcar: if you make more roads, you will have more traffic. Now we know about cities: if you make more places for people, you will have more public life. In cities that have done away with their pubic spaces, life has become totally privatized." ~Jan Gehl @citiesforpeople

"If you are a Robert Moses-type planner, you want to separate things, and extinguish the possibility for life to pop up. A concrete system in equilibrium (the Moses legacy of things moving quickly) is not what makes the city fantastic. Before the recent prioritization of pedestrians and cyclists, the image of New York City was of a throng of taxis in Times Square. The brand wasn’t the pedestrian experience." ~Jeff Risom @risomj

In a post for PlaceShakers, Hazel Borys goes on to excerpt salient points from various city planning leaders quoted in the film, The Human Scale, and link to their various Twitter feeds.

New York Times Square. Image credit: Wally Argus; flickr profile: argusfoto.

Monday, February 16, 2015 in PlaceShakers

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of "Apartment for rent" sign in red text on black background in front of blurred building

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program

Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

April 21, 2025 - Housing Wire

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 23, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Ken Jennings stands in front of Snohomish County Community Transit bus.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series

The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

April 20, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Entrance sign for San Jose-Santa Clara Regional wastewater treatment facility.

When Borders Blur: Regional Collaboration in Action

As regional challenges outgrow city boundaries, “When Borders Blur” explores how cross-jurisdictional collaboration can drive smarter, more resilient urban planning, sharing real-world lessons from thriving partnerships across North America.

1 hour ago - * A Placemaking Journal

Rendering of Penrose Roundabout in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia Is Expanding its Network of Roundabouts

Roundabouts are widely shown to decrease traffic speed, reduce congestion, and improve efficiency.

3 hours ago - WHYY

Green painted bike lane with striped buffer between car lane and curb parking lane.

Why Bike Lanes Are Good: An Explainer for the US Transportation Secretary

Sean Duffy says there’s no evidence that bike lanes have benefits. Streetsblog — and federal agencies’ own data — beg to differ.

5 hours ago - Streetsblog USA