For opera lovers, it’s the Wagner conundrum. For movie goers, it’s the Woody Allen problem. Dubious people have done wonderful work. But Jan Gehl, the Danish urban planner, sees architecture differently: “If you don’t love people, you can not make good architecture.” For him, architecture is a moral act. A conversation with a champion of humanistic design, recorded at the Van Alen Institute, with music by Kevin Nathaniel Hylton.

•  PERSON: Ralph Erskine
•  PLACE: Bo 01, Malmo, Sweden
•  THING: his bicycle
•  RANDY’S PLACE: site off 9W