[Jasoncw]

With Minneapolis there was discussion of the skyway counting against its urbanism, but I personally disagree with that general train of thought.

I think indoor urbanism should be considered similarly to outdoor urbanism.

Are Tokyo's vast underground shopping mall/train stations anti-urban? Or Kowloon Walled City? Is Hong Kong in general not urban because of the podium malls and pedestrian bridges? I would even argue that these kinds of three dimensional pedestrian systems make cities even more urban, by virtue of denser and richer pedestrian networks.


The point sometimes comes up when discussing Detroit's Renaissance Center, with people saying that it's a dead zone or that there's no pedestrian activity and things like that, but the podium of the Ren Cen is one of the most active pedestrian areas downtown.