How to Pilot Handbook: A tool for better public spaces

How to Pilot Handbook

A tool for better public spaces

Pilot projects can help to reduce barriers between citizens and decision makers, make the goals to improve the public realm more tangible, and be used as test-beds for a wide range of outcomes. Pilots vary in scale, time-frame and typology, but in all cases they are a way to test new solutions at a 1:1 scale out in the streets and public spaces. This 1:1 scale invites residents and businesses to engage in the process of changing their city and to experience their streets as public spaces. Pilots contribute to building momentum and demonstrating project goals in situ.

This booklet summarises key considerations when working in public space and engaging with pilot projects. Many different competencies are needed for pilot projects to have a positive impact on the quality of public space. This booklet presents ideas and tools for how to strengthen a people-first approach to public space design by focusing on the visions and strategies as well as the design process of pilot projects.

Designing good public spaces is not only a question of conception and form, but indeed the ability to be impactful and of strategic importance. With tactics, tools and a small selection of case studies from around the world, this booklet is to be used as a source of inspiration in this endeavour - and can act as a supplement to many other tools and guidelines.

How to read the booklet

The booklet is structured around a number of themes important to implementing successful public space pilot projects, and provides technical support to do so.

Each of the themes:

• Summarizes common challenges

• Presents key take-aways – ideas and overall suggestions of how to address common challenges

• Provides a short introduction to one or two tools

• Gives a reference to a case study that exemplifies some of the principles mentioned

This booklet is not a design guide in the sense of providing specific design prescriptions, but rather provides tools that can help determine what good public space design can do. While this booklet does not provide an exhaustive list of tools and best practices, it serves as a summary of key principles to get you started.

Pilot project as a planning tool 01

Pilot projects are a tool for urban transformation and community engagement. They can be used to make the case for change, as a dialogue tool across stakeholders and sectors, to test solutions prior to significant investment, to leverage and highlight unseen potentials of a site, and for early activation and placemaking.

Common Challenges:

Confusion about the goal of the project

False expectations in terms of duration (quick solution? temporary or permanent?)

Pilot projects not creating the desired impact

Pilots as separated projects, and not part of a long term or large scale strategic vision

A pilot project can serve different purposes

1. Catalyst for change

Starting prior or parellel to a long term development. It can be in the form of an installation project, event pilot or program based pilot project

2. Full scale test

A reversible project involving physical change but quicker, more simple and at a lower cost than a traditional project.

3. Demonstration project

A fully implemented design project which functions as a best practice project for future projects or a prototype pilot of a new design solution

4. Engagement & collaboration

Testing new ways to collaborate and engage people in a development process by building trust and sense of ownership

Tool

Qualitycriteria&guidelines

Pilots as a new way to plan and implement projects

Pilot projects can be used as part of a step-by-step planning process, where testing solutions and refining the result prior to long term investments can help secure the desired long term or large scale impact of the project.

Step-by-step planning as a learning process:

Compared to a traditional (linear) planning process:

The 3 steps of a pilot project:

Measure

Collect data that provides information on what can be tested and has the potential to improve.

Test 1:1

Design a pilot project and implement. Collect data and feedback that can be analyzed and compared with the previous data.

Learn and refine

Use the knowledge from the test phase in the further work, either with the specific pilot project or in other projects or processes.

Case Study

Transforming Denver's 16th Street Mall into a destination

16th Street Mall is a mile-long main street and transit corridor in Denver’s historic downtown core. With only 1% of the daily 28,000 pedestrians stopping and staying, the street was underperforming as a public space when the project started in 2014. In collaboration with the City of Denver and the Downtown Denver Partnership, Gehl measured public life, surveyed general sentiment, documented mobility patterns and monitored retail sales, to learn more about the everyday potential of the street.

Gehl mediated the competing interests of the transit operator (RTD) and other stakeholders by thoroughly investigating and creating a new narrative of everyday life on the Mall. A shared point of view was strengthened through walkshops with stakeholders and a series of temporary pilots promoting a common vision through shared experience. The pilot projects allowed the Downtown Denver Partnership to begin a program to bring more people downtown on the weekends and celebrate the Mall as a meeting place. What started out as a one-day test has over the years been expanded to more days, testing different solutions and using the learnings gained to inform a wider development of this part of the city. Read more about the project and find the full report here

16th Street Mall Pilot

Principles for good design 02

Pilot projects allow you to test designs and make informed decissions based on what works, and what does not. However, pilots are never one size fits all and the site's context should be carefully considered when designing pilots.

Common Challenges:

Not always clear how to evaluate the design quality of a project

A tendency to focus on design as a visual quality rather than what the design provides

The design of public spaces has to consider different - and sometimes conflicting - local needs

Design solutions that do not maintain well over time

Design tactics & principles

1. Design for human scale & human sense

Remember the eye-level perspective Are human senses being stimulated? Does the design consider the human scale? Social distances

2. Study human behavior - life and form

Study human behavior and let it help drive the design solutions. Monitor over time if behavior patterns change and make it possible to adapt the design solutions.

3. Design for multi-use and inclusivity

Consider how to invite different user groups and build social cohesion with overlap of functions in the same space. Multipurpose, eg. climate adaptation, life cycle of design & cost-benefit analysis

4. Robustness through integrated maintenance & management

Secure budget allocation for maintenance and clarify roles regarding responsibility and ownership, report mechanisms, rules and regulations

5. Be creative and test solutions

Design with both a long term and a short term perspective

Tool

12 quality criteria

This tool emphasizes basic human needs such as protection, comfort and enjoyment. Surveyors assess the quality of a specific place by grading each of the 12 Quality Criteria. The tool can be used as a check-list while planning new public spaces or pilot projects, and as a discussion tool for determining common goals and success criteria. For tools specifically targeted to creating healthy places see the Inclusive Healthy Places Framework

Protection

Without basic protection from cars, noise, rain, and wind, people will generally avoid spending time in a space. Protection from these things is critical for a space to be regularly used.

Comfort

Without elements that make walking, standing, sitting, seeing, and conversing comfortable, a place generally won’t invite anyone to spend time there. Options for play and exercise can also make the space more inviting to people of all ages.

Protection against traffic & accidents — feeling safe

• Protection for pedestrians and cyclists

• Eliminating fear of traffic

• Safe crossings

Opportunities to walk/cycle

• Room for walking

• Interesting facades

• No obstacles

• Good surfaces

• Accessibility for everyone

Opportunities to see

• Reasonable viewing distances

• Unhindered views

• Interesting views

• Easy orientation

• Lighting (when dark)

Enjoyment

Great public spaces tend to offer positive aesthetic and sensory experiences, take advantage of local climate conditions and provide human-scale elements so visitors do not feel lost in their surroundings.

Dimensions of buildings & spaces in observance of the important human dimension in relation to senses, movements, size and behaviour

Protection against crime & violence — feeling secure

• Lively public realm

• Allow for passive surveillance

• Diversity of functions 24/7/365

• Well lit / lighting in human scale

Opportunities to stop & stay

• Attractive & functional edges

• Defined spots for staying

• Objects to lean againstor stand next to

• Facades with good details that invite staying

Opportunities to talk & listen

• Low noise levels

• Public seating arrangements conducive to communicating ‘talkscapes’

Dimensioned at human scale Opportunities to enjoy the positive aspects of climate

• Sun/shade

• Heat/coolness

• Shelter from wind/ breeze

Checklist for urban quality

Protection against unpleasant sensory experiences

• Wind/Draft

• Rain/snow

• Cold/heat

• Dust, noise, glare

• Pollution

Opportunities to sit

• Defined zones for sitting

• Pleasant views, people watching

• Good mix of public and café seating

• Resting/waiting opportunities

Opportunities for play & exercise

• Allow for physical activity, exercise, play & street entertainment

• Temporary activities (markets, festivals, exhibitions etc)

• By day and night

• In summer and winter

Aesthetic qualities + positive sensory experience

• Good design and detailing

• Good materials

• Fine views/vistas

• Rich sensory experiences: trees, plants, water

Copenhagen cases

Flexible and multifunctional public space design

Entrance place to a public function integrates functions with different types of seats for staying programmed space for play. Library Rentemestervej,

Schoolyards in Copenhagen are rarely fenced, and can therefore be used as community places and playground also outside the school's opening hours. Design elements, such as bike parking, mark the border to the street. Guldbergs byplads, Nørrebro.

Centrally located square with different types of seating and objects for sports and play, as well as underground parking. Surrounding functions, eg. a market hall and several schools, spill out on the space and attract different groups to use it. Israels Plads, Central Copenhagen.

Playful

The combination activitie

As part of a strategy for creating more public life in the city, the City of Copenhagen has used the city as a testbed for experimenting with public spaces. Special focus has been put on creating good enviroments for children, to attract families to stay in the city, as well as making green spaces available throughout the city. Community parks and places are often programmed with a variety of programs, in order to integrate different user groups.

Recently, the focus has been on creating multifunctional spaces with layered functions that can be flexible for different uses. For example parks, squares and streets designed to hold stormwater in case of a cloudburst, parking is hidden underneath the public space and street furniture is used for marking the border to a place, on top of being a bench and bicycle parking rack.

Read more about Copenhagen's work with climate adaptation in public spaces here

Linear community park with stormwater treatment. Unprogrammed green space in combination with activities for different user groups. Søndre Boulevard, Vesterbro

stormwater

Nordvest

Colour and playful elements attracts people of all ages. A variation of staying activities invites different user groups to spend time in the same public space. Superkilen, Nørrebro

design that encourages play and physical activity. combination of movement (bike path) and staying activitie s creates a lively public space. Superkilen, Nørrebro

Strategic thinking and upscaling of pilot projects 03

While a pilot can be a one and done type of project, they can also serve as a tool for scaling initiatives across a larger program. To select the right type of pilot project is also a question of prioritization based on your project vision and overall strategy.

Common Challenges:

Local pilot projects initiated by citizens are not embedded in overall strategic plans for a city or neighborhood

Missed opportunity to draw learning for future projects and wider strategies

Pilot projects often have a short time perspective and lack plans for a long term perspective

The values of a pilot are not sufficiently captured

Pilot projects often have a short time perspective and lack plans for a long term perspective

Tactics for creating strategic impact

1.Have a holistic perspective

A pilot project may help solve several issues at the same time

2.Define a clear purpose and goal

A clear purpose (see page 10) with welldefined goals is crucial for withdrawing the right learning and applying the insights in future projects

3.It's a learning process and monitoring and evaluation is key

On-going evaluation of a pilot needs to be considered from the beginning and resources allocated for it to ensure that ideas are scaled up after the pilot

4.Prioritizeate

Assess your opportunities in relation to your overall strategy and desired impact. Start with low hanging fruits, and/or what will generate the clearest impact.

5.Communicate and disseminate

Document the change of a pilot and transfer the knowledge to build more support for future interventions

6.Have an exit plan

Encourage and build a sense of ownership among relevant stakeholders for the next phases of a project, e.g. to

Tool "How to prioritize"

This simple tool helps prioritize based on 'feasibility & likelihood of success', and 'impact'. To determine the impact requires that a project is assessed in relation to an overall strategy for the city/city area/policy and how it can contribute to that.

Possible barriers may include costs, time, complexity, resistance to the idea.

Using the right metrics

”Fight for it!” Overcome barriers

”Let it go!” Kill your darlings

Using different typologies of pilots, you can understand the pilot project's sphere of influence and how it spans multiple categories:

Regeneration Catalyst

What? Creating new destinations on vacant sites.

Why? To establish a local identity of a long-term project early in the process.

Where? In areas that are being redeveloped in the long-term, but need early activation to gather communities or build support.

How? By creating cultural attractors on vacant sites for varying durations of time depending on the specific context and scale of area.

Process Pilot

What? Citizen engagement process that builds trust, engages new stakeholders and creates solidarity through building together.

Why? To test out new ways of working together to create better processes and outcomes.

Where? In situations that need rethinking of the established engagement and collaboration methods.

How? By consciously and methodically testing, measuring and evaluating a project’s process.

Full scale Test

What? A full-scale, mockup project that aims to test and build familiarity with a new design as close to 1:1 as possible,

Why? To create ownership of a vision before it is fully formed.

Where? Often contested or congested spaces that require buy-in from many stakeholders or from the general public to begin change.

How? By creating a project that is as close to solving the suggested needs as possible with quick, flexible and reversible means.means to create maximum impact.

Insurgent Project

What? An “unsanctioned” project that uses loopholes or spontaneously claimed space, usually unauthorized, to propose a novel urban solution.

Why? To create civic ownership of a space or take initiative when official action is lacking.

Where? On contested, unclaimed or underused sites.

How? Private citizens, ad-hoc groups and community organizations, using simple and cheap means to create maximum impact.

”Just do it!”

Low haning fruit

Opportunities / low barriers

”Raise the bar!”

Add more

Demonstration Project

What? A fully detailed implementation - a flagship project

Why? To build support and creative incentive for even larger scale installations of a similar type.

Where? Usually limited in scale or size, in an area or along a stretch that can serve as an example for similar places.

How? By building a 1:1, fully designed and permanent project with high-quality design and high-quality materials.

Tactical Project

What? A “frame” within which citizens generate content or change limited sites within the urban environment.

Why? To create community stewardship around a project within the context of a larger city strategy.

Where? In places with an existing strong sense of community or with a large body of residents or users that can be engaged.

How? The city facilitates or processes permits and strategic partnerships; citizens take ownership of the actual projects.

Case Study Bueno Aires first citywide strategic plan

Gehl’s approach to citywide strategic planning focuses on improving people’s quality of life, leverages collaboration between government departments to create shared goals and break through silos, and creates a flexible framework with ambitious goals and concrete actions that can be tested and tweaked over time as lessons are learned and cities evolve. In Buenos Aires, Gehl was hired by the City to create Argentina's first ever citywide strategic plan - Buenos Aires Roadmap 2027. Read more about the city-wide strategy here

In parallel with the the development of the citywide strategic plan, Gehl helped the City of Buenos Aires with urban design work in one of seven chosen focus areas - the informal settlement Barrio 31. After studies of the public life and built form, made in collaboration with the city, the need to protect the social fabric that this self-made neighbourhood has generated was highlighted. The focus of upgrading was set on the need for balancing infrastructure and formalization to better integrate the area with the rest of the city, with projects on public space improvements, improved connections and upgraded housing.

The role of data to provide evidence and story telling 04

Common Challenges

Long reports with a lot of data points but little insights and insights that get leadership buy in

Uncertainty: Do we measure the right thing with the data that we collect?

Data points are not comparable throughout the project

Learnings:

• Challenge the type of data collected and introduce more people-centered data points, eg. data on public life (see opposite page)

• Develop new metrics according to the purpose of the project and the overall vision and strategy

• Collect and use data in a purposeful way - and at different stages of a process, both to do assessments but also to follow up on strategies and create meaningful feed-back loops.

• Communication of data is key. Make data compelling and focus on simple and readable maps.

What is the purpose of your data collection?

The types of data is endless and the reasons for collecting it many. Having a clear purpose before starting helps with getting the right set for what you are using it.

Create a proper baseline

Secure evidence based policies

Inform decision making processes

Influence design

Collection of data as a capacity building tool to ensure shared understanding of issues at stake

Predict and inform future scenarios

Change mindsets and bust myths about how places are functioning

Observations and analysis help us understand public life

The so-called public space public life surveys help to define more people-centered metrics - such as presence of people in the public realm, diversity of user groups, indication of perceived safety (eg. presence of women) , distribution of space between modes etc. These surveys help to better understand the relationship between built form and life. Understanding existing patterns gives valuable information to base recommendations and design proposals on and is a powerful tool to argue for change. More information on how to conduct a survey can be found here

Observation & analysis us understand

Weekend

Example: Civic Center as experienced by a Woman

Women have a more negative perception of Civic Center to men.

Although 50% of the people moving through Civic Center are women, few of them stop and stay.

This may be because women tend to be more sensitive to issues of safety in public and are deterred from spending time in Civic Center's public spaces because of the ratio of undesirable activities and desirable activities.

Design Challenge

Women are invited to spend more time in Civic Center's public spaces.

Women and men moving and staying in the area

How do you feel about the Civic Center Area?

Gehl Making Cities for People

Pedestrian Traffic in East

Weekday

The role of data to provide evidence and storytelling insights (cont.)

Telling compelling stories about your project contributed to creating a shared understanding of the context among the different actors that are involved in the project process. By telling compelling stories with project data you can:

Why else would you tell data-driven stories?

Common Challenges

Difficulty telling stories that capture important data points and lived experience

Inverstors and believers in the project are not sure where to invest resources

Difficulties in bridging the gap between initial project goals and what was accomplished throughout the course of the project

Learnings:

• Data can create urgency to build support for a project

• Gauge and communicate progress on reaching — or missing — project goals and identify areas for improvement

• Use data to assess impact and tell compelling success stories to the public and other key actors

• Document project process and how it informed project goals

What goes into telling compelling stories?

Make It Stick

Using narrative structure and language to crisply and catchily tell the story

Make It

Quantitative

Analyzing and presenting a mix of before and after quantitative data

Tactics for telling compelling stories:

Make It Human

Integrating quotes, anecdotes, and accessible language

Make It Visual

Illustrating with photos, graphics, and data visualizations

Case Study

Public life centered vision for Bogota

The number of children playing in the public realm increased by 50%

Opportunities to get more involved with the community

New places to sit, socialise, and enjoy the public realm

Since 2020, a collaborative initiative has been addressing health risks in five Bogotá neighborhoods, guided by criteria set by the Health Secretary. In 2023, Gehl collaborated with Novo Nordisk and local partners implemented a pilot to support existing bottom-up endeavours in the neighbourhood of San Luis to address food insecurity. The project led to piloting healthy school environments in San Luis, leveraging the public realm to instill healthier behaviors and improve habits. Data played a key role in informing and defining key project goals based on the users needs and behaviours, pilot sites, and finally to evaluate the success of the pilot. The project goals were: increase access to information and healthy food offer habits, boost levels of physical activity in the public realm, and encourage social interaction in the public realm.

After evaluation, we found that the pilot encouraged an increase of healthier eating habits around the school, with food activity going up 240%. Furthermore, people experienced more positive feelings and attitudes towards themseves and felt empowered to introduce changes in their lifestyles. Finaly, play increased in the streets, and the sense of unsagety around the school decreased by 50%. Going forward, local partners will be using the data points and stories from the healthy school environment pilot to scale the project up. Read more about Bogotá healthy school environment pilot here

More welcoming for parents and their kids

9% more women were seen in the public realm

Visioning as an important part of participation 06

Common Challenges:

Public space projects often lack a shared vision across different stakeholders

Political visions and strategies/ projects are often not aligned

Political cycles and change in government can make it difficult to see a project through

Learnings:

• Long term visions are key to ensure change over time

• Strong visions shared across different interest or political groups are the base from which to align projects and make sure that they all contribute to the same goal

• Overall visions can often be shared by different peopleit's HOW to get there which is the challenging task

1. Shape the vision early in the process

Make sure that the overall purpose/ goal is clear. Shaping the vision helps to both broaden and sharpen the potentials of a concrete project

2. Identify milestones and goals

Make the vision more concrete and actionable by identifying milestones and measures of success

3. Re-visit the vision during a process

Discuss and align the vision along the way as preconditions constantly change

4. Shared vision through shared experience

Need for changes? Learnings

Use different tactics such as walkshops and role play to evoke shared experience

5. Involve the 'no'-sayers

Make sure to involve those not in favor to understand their concerns. Incorporate that knowledge in tactics to tackle resistance

6. Culture is not static!

Work with imagery and showcase examples to illustrate cultural change

Set intermediate goals to achieve long term goals

Gathering relevant stakeholders early in the process to create a shared vision for the project and together discuss long term and intermediate goals and responsibilities raises the likelihood of a successful project and process. Rather than a fixed plan, a strong vision can help define a flexible framework that combines the short and longterm perspective.

to a traditional (linear) planning process:

Need for changes? Learnings

Creating a common roadmap is a good way to make stakeholders set intermediate goals and share the understanding of what is needed for a project to succeed.

Case Study Using People-First Metrics to Transform New York City

DATA COLLECTION (2007) NEAR-TERM OUTCOMES

10% of space was for people, but 90% of users were pedestrians

74% said Times Square improved dramatically

67% said plazas increased time NYC Plaza Program

In Times Square and across the city, cars dominated and people lacked access to open space. Gehl used public space and public life data collection and prototyping to make the case for the pedestrianization of Times Square, and for a rapid expansion of public space in New York City.

In 2007, the New York City administration formulated a strategy for a more people-friendly public realm throughout the city using people-first metrics to figure out where and how to transform public spaces.

With survey sites in four different NYC areas, the people-first metrics enabled the city to see their public realm with a new lens. For instance only 10% of pedestrians were children or seniors, although these groups account for a combined 30% of New York’s population. At Times Square, it became clear that 90% of the space was dedicated to cars, but 90% of the traffic were pedestrians. With these new insights, design outcomes could be developed that dramatically improved public life: traffic speeds across the city improved, pedestrian casualties decreased, businesses saw improved foot traffic etc. The collection of the data helped build support for temporary pilot projects and later permanent solutions.

The testing of pilot projects such as on Times Square also resulted in a city wide program for improving underutilised public space - the NYC Plaza Program, - in order to secure that every citizen lives within 10 minutes walking distance of an open space of quality. Read more about the NYC Plaza Program here and about Gehl's work here

OUTCOMES (2008-2009)

LONG-TERM IMPACT (2008- )

“People love it, reclaiming streets given over to cars but not really used by cars.”

Reclaimed Times Square and neighborhood plazas were good for people, business, and government. The adaptation of urban spaces improved access and attachment to neighborhood open space, drove small business sales, and improved resident perceptions of city government.

The model has transformed the cityscape, withstood political changes, and inspired other cities. Continuing to this day, the program has inspired cities as varied as Mexico City, Bogotá, and Addis Ababa. “It’s now copied all over the country and all over the world,” said Sam Schwartz.

POLLY TROTTENBERG, NYC DOT

07

Organisation and governance

Integrated planning with shared visions and goals requires breaking away from the "silo-mentality" often seen within city organisations. Working with cities to identify openings for intersectional collaborations and gathering different stakeholders are methods to start a more efficient and integrated planning process.

Recommendations for how to secure impact

1. Encourage inter-departmental funding

To ensure a broader buy-in, more resources and sectoral integration and coordination

2. Understand the local culture

Identify the appropriate rooms for maneuvre in the local context, eg. the relationship between technical staff and decision makers

3. Identify and use a wide spectrum of capacities

Inside and outside the organisation/ community

Common Challenges:

Pilot projects often have a short time perspective and lack plans for the long term

Unclear roles that create inefficiency

Stranded ideas due to lack of resources or political will

Too much 'silo-planning'

4. Stay involved

Explore opportunities to stay involved and keeping the community engaged to secure the whole life span of a project

5. Combine approaches

Use both bottom-up and to-down approaches to ensure project sustainability

6. Understand the power structure

Who are/who can be the champions? What are the informal power structures?

A holistic planning approach Organisation

From "silos"

In most cities planning, implementation and management is siloed

Planning Public Works Forestry Dept. of Transportation

How we experience space

Break down the silos for a more holistic planning approach

Food & Beverage

Case Study Strategic directions for public spaces in Chile

Gehl helped the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism (MINVU) with a national level strategy for their future work with developing Chile's cities. The report comes with recommendations for the process of how to transform space, and focuses on 5 key areas of action, chosen for the Chilean context: Heritage & Preservation, Sustainable Mobility, Equity & Diversity, Urban Design at the Human Scale and Economic & Cultural Promotion.

The recommendations are now being used in a transformation project of central Valparaiso.

Read the full report here

Gehl