Yesterday in Almaty, the director of Gehl architects Riccardo Marini gave an open lecture. Gail Architects, in cooperation with the JSC «Almaty City Development Center«, are consulting on the implementation of principles into urban environment transformation projects: streets, bicycle infrastructure, parks and other public spaces. Gail Architekts' concept is based on 40 years experience on researching public spaces and improving urban living conditions, where human development is a major priority. For example, the famous Times Square, which used to be loaded with cars and people trying to get between them, has been transformed into a place of rest and communication for many residents and visitors of the city.
For the first time Gail Architects' consultants visited Almaty in 2014 and conducted similar research, examining the city, its habits, potential and challenges. Subsequent expert visits were aimed at assessing projects that are already under way to change the urban environment and how they fit the overall concept of the city for people. For example, on the streets of Panfilov and Jibek Joly and Astana Square, the pedestrian flow increased by 2 times, the number of people spending their time there increased by 1,8 times, and the children playing there were 15 times more than before the reconstruction.
Riccardo Marini expressed his joy at Almaty's success in transforming itself from a city for cars to a city for people. For this purpose, the Almaty City Development Center is working with consultants to develop a «Basic Guide to Urban Space Organization«.
