Placemaking and Sport with James Thoem and Sophia Schuff from Gehl

In the first episode of our three-part podcast series on Placemaking and Sport, we chat to urban design experts Sophia Schuff and James Thoem from Gehl in Denmark. Gehl is an expert partner in ISCA’s Placemaking and Sport project and, oh my, how grateful are we to learn about its long history and expertise? Founding architect Jan Gehl is globally renowned as a front-running researcher and “urban design guru” who has led the transformation of cities such as New York, Melbourne and Copenhagen (and many more) into Cities for People.

Gehl’s mission to make cities more liveable has evolved into a global movement, and Sophia, who hails from the US, and James, from Canada, travel across the world as part of this movement to help cities and communities find ways to improve their public spaces – no matter what their vision or budget is. From safe bike lanes to “sticky” squares where people hang out, to harbours bustling with water sports, city spaces can be hubs of activity for residents and visitors alike.

So let’s dive in to discover:

What makes a “wow moment” for people when they arrive in a city?

Why do some urban design projects succeed while others flop?

Why do Abu Dhabi and Toronto share similar challenges in getting residents outside and enjoying public spaces?

What are Copenhagen’s biggest triumphs when it comes to urban design?

And – getting to the core theme of these podcasts – what is placemaking and how does sport and active living fit into the picture?

We hope you’ll learn as much from this chat as we did.

Hosts and recording: Hilal Erkoca Mølgaard and Rachel Payne from ISCA

Guests: Sophia Schuff, Director and Urban Anthropologist at Gehl, Denmark/USA and James Thoem, Associate and Urbanist at Gehl, Denmark/Canada

Post production: Kristine Onarheim and Rachel Payne, ISCA

Visit the Placemaking and Sport project website https://placemaking.isca.org/

"This project is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them."