Architect Jan Gehl's "people-first" appoach to urban planning has been credited with helping turn Copenhagen into one of the world's most liveable cities. Gehl is currently a senior advisor at Gehl Architects, which he co-founded with Helle Søholt and held a partner position at until 2011. Over the course of his career, Gehl has published several books on improving the quality of urban life through design, including Life Between Buildings, Cities for People, New City Spaces, Public Spaces – Public Life, New City Life, How to Study Public Life and most recently People Cities / Mennesker Først.

Gehl's work has influenced public space improvements in over 50 global cities, including New York, London, Moscow, Copenhagen, Melbourne, and Sydney. He has been awarded numerous national and international awards including ”Sir Patrick Abercrombie Prize for exemplary contributions to Town Planning” by The International Union of Architects and an honorary doctors degree from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Gehl is an Honorary Fellow of The Danish Institute of Architects, The Royal British Institute of Architects, the American Institute of Architects, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, the Royal Incorporation of Scottish Architects and the Planning Institutes of Australia and Ireland.