The Human Scale (2012)

Half of the human population lives in urban areas. By 2050, this will increase to 80%. Life in a megacity is both enchanting and problematic. Today we face peak oil, climate change, ... See full summary »

Director:

Andreas Dalsgaard

Writer:

Andreas Dalsgaard

Stars:

Jan Gehl, Rob Adams, Robert Doyle

4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Jan Gehl	...	Himself
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rob Adams	...	Himself
Robert Doyle	...	Himself
Lars Gemzøe	...	Himself
Mark Gorton	...	Himself
Iqbal Habib	...	Himself
Dongquan He	...	Himself (as He Dongquan)
Akm Abul Kalam	...	Himself
Abu Naser Khan	...	Himself
Hugh Nicholson	...	Himself
Bob Parker	...	Himself
Khondker Neaz Rahman	...	Himself
Jeff Risom	...	Himself
Janette Sadik-Khan	...	Herself
Ruhan Shama	...	Herself

Storyline

Half of the human population lives in urban areas. By 2050, this will increase to 80%. Life in a megacity is both enchanting and problematic. Today we face peak oil, climate change, loneliness and severe health issues due to our way of life. But why? The Danish architect and professor Jan Gehl has studied human behavior in cities through four decades. He has documented how modern cities repel human interaction, and argues that we can build cities in a way, which takes human needs for inclusion and intimacy into account. 'The Human Scale' meets thinkers, architects and urban planners across the globe. It questions our assumptions about modernity, exploring what happens when we put people into the centre of our planning.

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Taglines:

Life between buildings

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Genres:

Documentary | News

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Details

Country:

Denmark Bangladesh China New Zealand USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 February 2013 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Den mänskliga staden

Filming Locations:

Denmark

Box Office

Budget:

$780,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$6,878

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,878

Company Credits

Production Co:

Final Cut for Real

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min 56 min (TV) 56 min (TV) (2014)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Quotes

Khondker Neaz Rahman: If you see life, if you see how it grows, then when you grow up you will take care of lives of others. It is not school, it is not a book, it is the timeframe of your life: you learn. So when you turn a city into a place where you don't walk, your kids don't walk, you are raising generations that when they grow up, will not be human.

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Connections

Referenced in V centru: Adam Gebrian a Respekt Madam (2018)

User Reviews

Superior documentary geared up for theatrical exhibition

Architect Jan Gehl observes the twentieth century city, where real estate and cars were considered wealth. This has brought millions out of agrarian poverty at the cost of increased pollution and alienation. "Where is the scale for measuring happiness in the city"

Rather than traffic flow, his followers monitor the movement of people - including whether they stand in the sun or shadow! This works out appealingly in Copenhagen and applying his ideas to New York's Times Square and its surroundings dropped injuries. 65%. They show Los Angeles, Melbourne, Sienna, Christchurch, where the earthquake meant they could start from scratch, China's Chong Ging, where their reforms ran foul of the traffic police and, dramatically, in over-populated Dhaka, where World Bank funding is claimed to increase the problems.

Handsome camera-work. The interview subjects, first montaged looking at camera mute, register as having the right idea.

Le Corbusier's notion of master planner cops a serve. Lewis Mumford doesn't get a mention and neither does public transport. The we only hear about bicycles or cars.