Preface to the fourth edition

The first danish language version of this book, published in 1971, was very much a protest against the funcionalistic principles for planning cities and residential areas of that period.

The book carried an appeal to show concern for the people who were to move about between buildings, and it urged an understanding of the subtle, almost undefinable - but definite - qualities, which had always been related to the meetings of people in public spaces, and it pointed to the life between buildings as a dimension of architecture to be carefully treated.

Now 30 years have gone by and many architectural trends and ideologies have passed by over the years. These intervening years have also shown that careful work with liveliness and liveability of cities and residential areas continues to be a important issue. The intensity in which fine public spaces are used at this point of time, as well as the greatly increased general interest for the quality of cities and their public spaces emphasizes this point. The character of life between buildings changes with changes in the society situation, but the essential principles and quality criteria to be employed when working with the life between buildings has proven to be remarkably constant.

This, the fourth English language edition of "Life Between Buildings", is published in Denmark by The Danish Architectural Press. The previous editions in English were published by Van Nostrand Reinhold in New York commencing in 1987.

Though this work over the years has been updated and revised several times, so this version bears little resemblance with the very early versions, there was no reason to change the basic message: Take good care of the life between your buildings.

Copenhagen, January 2001

Jan Gehl