| Worldwide, skywalk have an evolutionary process from construction to demolition, and then to maintenance and renewal. However, the long-standing criticisms of the skywalks, such as reducing street vitality, damaging street scenery, and causing social differentiation, have not been comprehensively and effectively demonstrated. What are the advantages and disadvantages of dismantling and maintaining urban sky walk systems, and how effective are they? The study focuses on the skywalk systems in the downtown of Cincinnati, and conducts empirical and simulation analysis on key quantitative indicators such as store popularity, crime rate, walking range, and street coverage. It is believed that the sky walk system have a significant effect on improving walking accessibility, comfort, and safety, without weakening street vitality and underlying commercial value. They have already and will continue to play a positive role in promoting social inclusion and the realization of diverse values. In the current three-dimensional pedestrian system in Chinese cities, compared with underground pedestrian networks, skywalks have received less attention and research results are even more scarce, which has restricted the judgment of planners and architects on this means of shaping urban space. Therefore, detailed analysis of classic cases has strong theoretical and practical significance, and provides suggestions on decision-making, scale, form and other aspects for the new construction and renewal of skywalks in high-density cities. |
