The book by Ian Gale and Birgitt Svarre "How to Study City Life" has been translated into Russian by the Concern "KROST" by order of the Moscow Government and the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the city of Moscow.
– Your research approach is very hands-on, often based on direct observation of the behavior of the townspeople. But XXI the century is, in a sense, obsessed with big data, statistics on the use of mobile devices and social networks, and so on. How useful are they for studying life in public spaces compared to “classical” methods?
“The new tools, of course, can be used to learn more about human behavior, but they cannot replace the knowledge gained through direct observation of the townspeople in the streets and squares. When we observe how people interact with the built environment, we receive nuanced information that cannot be extracted from raw data, which can be quite abstract.
The volume of data will only grow in the coming years, and it will become more and more difficult to understand this data, to get answers to questions about the city “at eye level”: who is here, who is not here, what are they doing and what is not? Do you feel safe here, would you pass here if you were with your niece or grandmother? It is important to try to understand how we use the city and gain more knowledge about it. There is still a lot to be done in the field of public life research, and in order to get information about the qualitative aspects of urban life, we need to go out and study how people are already using their city.
In your book, you listed prominent researchers of public life and urban space XIX – XXI centuries. Have any of them influenced you, and if so, how?
- I would like to highlight Jane Jacobs. She wrote Death and the Life of American Cities in 1961, and in 1971 I published my first book, Living Among Buildings. At the time, these ideas were ignored by most of the establishment, but since then so many have devoted themselves to creating cities for people, and Jacobs has become a source of inspiration for a large part of them. Today, this area is receiving much more attention - and for the right reasons: to make cities more livable, safer, sustainable, healthy. Cities that are actively working to become “cities for the people” have also successfully turned into [globally] attractive cities, and thus Rob Adams, director of urban design in Melbourne, is another inspiring example. He has been a driving force in transforming Melbourne's city center from unattractive to attractive, livable, where people want to live, work and play. This proves the importance of strong design, and also that committed people can do a lot.
How interconnected are public space and public life? Could a 'low quality' public space be very busy due to its location on popular walking routes, or a well-designed space deserted due to its less popular location?
- You can find many busy streets around metro stations, for example, like in Moscow. This does not necessarily mean that these streets are of high quality. Recently, we observed the transformation of Mayakovsky Square near the station of the same name: now it is not only for the activities necessary for the townspeople, it is also a place of rest, even games - swinging on a swing. This can create a new atmosphere. The best public spaces invite the citizen to stay, so there are more people spending time there, rather than just passing through them.
Moscow differs from the largest cities in the world because of its harsh cold climate, while it also differs from other northern cities in its much larger size. But is the public life of Muscovites very different from other cities that you explored, and if so, how exactly? Is there a city you have studied that could serve as a model for Moscow's changes?
- Moscow is a two-season city like Alma-Ata, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo, which we also studied. Of course, it is important to take into account the peculiarities of the climate in order to create the best opportunities for walking, cycling, and staying in one place.
Moscow has a wonderful architectural and cultural heritage, and a significant step forward to make it more visible was the decision to remove advertising billboards from Tverskaya so that you can see the Kremlin in the distance and the historical buildings around. And also - to make this street a promenade worthy of the Moscow heritage.
