The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has announced a $1.6 million grant in support of a new nonprofit urban design institute in San Francisco that will work to create tools and methods aimed at helping cities create public spaces that encourage civic engagement and promote economic opportunity.

The Gehl Institute will focus its efforts on understanding the needs and preferences of residents — and approach known as people-first design — by measuring and analyzing their behavior in streets, parks, plazas, and other public venues. In addition, it will consider new ways of applying a people-first approach in different urban contexts, enabling communities to better understand what works in particular settings, and will explore ways of including people traditionally excluded from urban planning in the design process.

To that end, the institute will lead intensive, three-day workshops with community members in five cities where Knight invests to identify new approaches to creating spaces that expand public life; undertake a series of small experimental projects in those cities; and monitor and evaluate the impact of those projects and refine them based on their outcomes. The institute also will develop a database for its research findings and will produce a series of guides for communities interested in learning more about people-first design.

The institute will be led by Jeff Risom, a partner in Gehl Architects and managing director of Gehl Studio, the firm's practice in the United States. "Growing urbanization and the surprising lack of tools for municipal leaders means the institute is well placed and timed. We will be promoting a new discipline within the fields of urban design, architecture, and city governance that will address some of the most burning issues facing cities today," said Risom. "There is remarkably little knowledge about how the design of public space can invite city life that promotes economic integration and civic engagement. We relish the opportunity to help fill that gap."