Key Takeaways
- Urban environments should be flexible, adaptable, and deeply human-centered.
- High density should not mean high-rise developments alone but rather diverse, layered urban spaces with well-designed mid-rise buildings, communal areas, and active streets.
- Cities should cater to human senses—lighting, soundscapes, material textures, and smells – all influence how people perceive and use public spaces.
- Designing cities for sociability can combat loneliness, promote inclusivity, and strengthen urban resilience.
Summary
- What Makes a City “Soft”?
- Place, People, Planet
- Human-Scale Development: Walkable neighborhoods, mid-rise buildings, and mixed-use spaces encourage social interactions.
- Buildings and public spaces, including street furniture, pocket parks, and creative street designs, encourage spontaneity, creativity, and social connections.
- Streets, plazas, and parks designed for gathering, not just circulation.
- Streets designed for people first, with wider sidewalks, slow traffic zones, and active frontages.
- Designing for all senses—sound, light, and textures create inviting and stimulating environments.
- Policies that allow for flexibility—adaptive reuse of spaces, temporary interventions, and incremental urbanism.
- Tactical urbanism, micro-scale greenery, and community-driven initiatives can enhance city life without massive infrastructure investments.
- Neighbourhoods that enable trust, safety, and sense of community.
- Soft mobility starts from home – window, balcony, backdoor, and walking, cycling, and public transit should be integrated seamlessly into daily life.
- Why do we need Soft Cities?
- Increasing obesity, health issues, loneliness, inequity – calls for human-centered and socially inclusive designs.
- Foundation of Public Life: fresh air, exercise, and meeting people.
- Living locally
- Density x Diversity = Proximity: accommodating different kinds of people and activities in the same place. Not just more buildings, but better-quality urban spaces that promote affordability, accessibility, and local economic activity.
- Enclosure as a design parameters:
- Building a block which actually encloses like a mini gated community.
- Safe, Tranquil, Quiet, Clean space in the middle of the residential community used as a green space rather than a parking lot.
- When living in an apartment, this space feels like a big backyard – bigger than one ever gets in a city.
- The courtyard and patio creates a microclimate, can also act as a protected acoustic space tuning out the traffic noise on the main roadways, and becomes a common space increasing social interaction.
- Layering
- Making the most of what every floor does – different uses and layouts can create super local diversity in every building.
- On the ground floor, at eye level, could be shops, workspaces, playschools, clinics, or homes.
- People getting around and on as a society
- Reducing the travel time – not only through distance but the passage of time itself.
- For example, in Copenhagen, the sidewalk is designed to be continuous, without breaks at junctions, prioritizing the pedestrians’ movement over vehicles. This reduces the (walking) journey time by several minutes and makes walking safer.
- Moving through the city at eye level – walking, cycling, trams and buses – allows people to connect with people throughout their journey and also observe the city while moving through the neighbourhoods.
- Transit-oriented development vs Neighbourhood-oriented transit: the former connects people to places elsewhere in the city, the latter connects people to where they are.
- Living with the weather
- Creating thoughtful microclimates can help navigate temperature differences and allow people to enjoy public spaces longer and throughout the year rather than only season-specific usage.
- Considering nano-climates in neighbourhood design can cut down on heating / cooling appliances and improve energy efficiency.
How can Cities apply these learnings / findings?
- Invest in public spaces and use design interventions like shared surfaces, temporary markets, and outdoor seating.
- Update zoning laws to allow for mixed-use, adaptable spaces, and multi-functional buildings.
- Support / Incentivize small businesses, local vendors, and community groups that contribute to street-level activity and soft city principles.
- Develop “third places” (beyond home and work) like libraries, plazas, and community centers.
- Support low-cost, rapid interventions such as pop-up parks and street murals.
- Establish flexible policies that allow for temporary or experimental public space projects.
Ideas for further reading / research
- How can cities design spaces that actively reduce loneliness and social isolation?
- How different cultural contexts shape soft city design principles?
