ARCH2058 Modern Architecture ASSIGNMENT 3: GUIDEBOOK
| Fall 2021
Infranstructure: Subway In The Sky LIANG Yan (3035702944) SHUM Nga Man (3035698818) HUANG Ming Jin Andy (3035660392)
TSUEN WAN
Residents of Tsuen Wan benefit from the Tsuen Wan Town Footbridge Network. It connects to 20 shopping malls of all sizes, including CDW buildings, four government institutions, including libraries and community centers, and passes straight through more than 15 residential estates and structures. Not only are MTR stations located at both ends of the footbridges, but the network also includes several bus terminals, allowing residents to access the system at any time. With the eventual construction of footbridges, the public will be able to go to various locations in the Tsuen Wan city center via a covered flyover without having to contend with crowds on the street, heavy traffic, or inclement weather. Apart from its prominent location, the pedestrian bridge system is equipped with elevators, escalators, steps, and ramps, making it accessible to those with varying needs. The Tsuen Wan Footbridge Network System makes life easier for locals.
1 NAN FUNG CENTRE & LO TAK COURT Nan Fung Centre is a shopping mall that is being eliminated by the newly built malls. Yet, the nature of shops are mainly targeted at root class and domestic helpers. Therefore, it is able to survive till now. Lo Tak Court is known as the best food court for Tsuen Wan people, the food there is usually at a very reasonable price, and the numerous choices of food ranging from Hong Kong local snacks, bubble tea shops, to Sushi and Thai food. Therefore, it is a must-go place for people who come to Tsuen Wan.
2 TAI HO ROAD Tai Ho Road is the main north-south corridor in the centre of Tsuen Wan. The newly built part of the Tsuen Wan pedestrian bridge network is roughly parallel to the Tai Ho Road. The Tai Ho Road is also where Tsuen Wan housewives would have to travel everyday, since the fruit stores, wet markets and shops selling daily necessities are concentrated in Tai Ho Road. When you walk through the streets there, you will be able to see the most primitive lives of the Tsuen Wan people.
3 TSUEN WAN PLAZA Tsuen Wan Plaza is one of the largest shopping malls in the district and was built on the reclaimed land of the old Tsuen Wan Ferry Pier. Hosting a great variety of retail shops that fulfill all kinds of demand for all generations. Including Dim Sum restaurants, international-chain clothes stores to supermarkets and an outdoor children playground. Where is a very ideal choice for families, couples or even individuals to spend their weekends.
A City Covered in Footbridge Andy, Huang Ming Jin
A city’s transportation system reveals a lot about the city’s values. Is there anything in Hong Kong as disregarded as being a pedestrian? In Hong Kong, there seem to be endless amount of ways to venture or travel around the city: through minibuses, double-decker buses, taxis, ferries, and not to mention the underground MTR subway system. No Hong-Konger seems to be left with a wanting choice. You might ask, who would be so audacious to amble down, to walk and scroll through such a hilly and humid city by foot? Yet, despite the diversity in transportations, Hong Kong has not gloss over the mesmerizing infrastructure of foot bridges, connecting and criss crossing the city. This segment of essay proceeds to analyze/ generalize the footbridges seen in
Hong Kong, to point out the diversity of Hong Kong’s foot bridges with provided examples, this will then be followed by a comparison with the foot bridges in Tsuen Wan. The essay will then conclude by extracting the uniqueness of such a fascinating modern infrastructure under Hong Kong’s complex yet idiosyncratic urban influence, especially in Tsuen Wan. In 2015, the government summed up a total of 701 footbridges, most of which were located in the New Territories. Hong Kong Island alone, counts up to about 164 foot bridges, by which, many were privately owned foot bridges. The 1960’s marked the emergence of such an infrastructure in Hong Kong. The multiplexed system started developing in response to the staggering amount of road traffic and accidents, enduring the infrastructure to remain free-flowing while securing safety to the pedestrians by offering an easy yet fluid subway network above ground. Through the modernist lenses, foot bridges have become a sophisticated patchwork of private and pub
lic infrastructure used daily by pedestrians. Footbridges in Hong Kong “What and how pedestrian bridges connect”, a physical survey done in 2016 regarding Hong Kong foot bridges is revealing. It unveils that foot bridges embraces various forms and connection methods that are strongly related with the “necessary activities” (Gehl, 1987) of how people commute on a daily basis. As shown in fig 2, usually built with escalators, lifts, stairs, ramps and overhead covers, foot bridges originally provide an inclusive and easy access to City users, thus to shelter them from extreme weather conditions, and to avoid potential pedestrian-vehicle collisions on ground. Form follows function, as foot bridges are purposely used for daily communication, for instance, heading to work, or waiting for buses, and also for pedestrian- vehicular traffic segregation. They are primarily aimed to connect with people’s working space, living space and transport
spaces as one. On a design or more structural aspect, they are substantially configured to provide a fluid walking space for people to navigate, in assistance with flat and expansive decks, featuring various degrees of enclosure by architectonic structures, its space is thus only disrupted by essential public facilities, like littering bins, direction signs, or plant pots in some instances. (see fig 3) According to Urban Planning Scholar, Franck Stevens (2006), in order to be designed to associate with human daily activities, and to be accessible by the City users, “Hong Kong foot bridges embraced a new modernistic infrastructure, proposing a new form of loose space” (Stevens, 2006) to assist in urban movement and human activities under its urban fabric. This thus offers a great degree of possibility to Hong Kong’s everyday urban life and metropolis environment. Throughout the day, it is not unfamiliar that foot bridges assist endless stream of people, the immense degree of mobility and diversi
ty of human flow and needs, accommodating with the looseness and flexibility in space of foot bridges thus evolved foot bridges into a lively and vital everyday place. To assist in the dynamic movement, needs and flow of each individual and crowd, thus to engage with nucleation of Hong Kong’s urban fabric, foot bridges has evolved into diverse ways of form, representation and connection as shown in fug 1.2. Such phenomena shaped Hong Kong’s foot bridges into not just simply a universal infrastructure for human-vehicle segregation, but a modern infrastructure that manifests development, evolution, life and diversity. Some examples to such a claim would be ranging from the circular foot bridge in causeway way, to the monumental foot bridges in Tsuen Wan. The emblematic Central-Mid levels foot bridge built in 2003, was known as the “escalator foot bridge”, which connects to more than 20 external escalators, including 3 inclined moving sidewalks, connecting the whole Central to the residential
Mid-Levels. Moreover, there is also the central elevated walk way, specialized for office workers, a hybrid of indoor and outdoor foot bridge systems networking the main financial districts of Hong Kong Island (Admiralty, Central, Sheung Wan); on one end users navigate through the air-conditioned, clean and artificial walkway, and on the other, stripping away their glass walls, users travel through another species of foot bridge, which still protects people from rain and sun, but retaining a sense of the outdoors humidity, heat, wind or air, a perfect example of combining the old and the new. Some foot bridges, such as the circular foot bridge in Causeway Bay – paralleling the concentric roadwork on the ground, or the train inspired foot bridge in Kowloon Bay – containing more than 70 openings that frames the city scape of the district, further proves the diversity and modern evolution of foot bridges in Hong Kong, where the realm of art and aesthetics in foot bridges is well delineated. (see fig 4)
Tsuen Wan footbridge Speaking of the evolution and species of foot bridges in Hong Kong, not a singular foot bridge network could beat outgrow the unique parallel life existing above ground, or some may state, “the subway in the sky” (天 空之城) – Tsuen Wan foot bridges. Being situated between Kowloon and the New Territories, Tsuen Wan districts plays a vital role in linking the West of New Territories and the urban area, above that Tsuen Wan further serves as a gateway to the airport. The districts well founded transportation network, in addition to its manifold scenic spots , coped with an array of community facilities, has made Tsuen Wan captivate numerous residents and visitors alike. Along with an exponential and rapid population increase, thus its vast economic development in recent years, there is an emergence to segregate vehicular and pedestrian traffic by footbridges.
With the increasing livelihood in Tsuen Wan, like any other foot bridges in Hong Kong, its foot bridges progresses simultaneously in a linear order, to well coexist with the needs and flow of City users. But uniquely observed from Tsuen Wan foot bridges, the infrastructure develops and sprawls like an urban city of its own, networking as if a metro system above ground, from destination to destination. The comprehensive footbridge network was first constructed and roots from the town centre to connect varying living areas, facilities and services, for instance, markets, hospitals, shopping centres, bus stops and MTR stations. To establish such an all-inclusive footbridge network, careful consideration was obviously put to its structural form, in order to motivate the use and solve the needs from public. As stated from above, covers are provided to shelter the pedestrian from extreme weathers, rain and sun. However, rather than only including distinctive entrance or exit, nu
merous entrances and exits are implemented along the junction and along the walkways of foot bridges, to facilitate users to reach different parts of the community and offering a high degree of freedom and spontaneity while circulating the footbridge, since the foot bridges well-connects Tsuen Wan as a whole. To cater for the needs of the elderly and persons with disabilities, barrier-free access facilities such as ramps and lifts are also seen being provided, which is rare when compared to some of the examples listed above. Moreover, rather than of sticking to one species of foot bridge, as Tsuen Wan foot bridges are constantly extending and expanding, its overall framework seemed to be a cluster of varying types of foot bridges, ranging from air conditioned indoor foot bridges that connects malls, to more traditional outdoor covered foot bridges, to circular or curved foot bridge that connects to streets. Each symbolic to the nature of its urban surrounding, flow and people,
which to author is very fascinating and transitional to witness as navigating through the Tsuen Wan foot bridge network as a whole. In a metropolitan City like Hong Kong, Hong Kong is undoubtfully a suitable place meant to coexist with infrastructures such as foot bridges, yet as the city develops, foot bridges as an single entity progresses as well. What makes Tsuen Wan’s nexus of foot bridges so unique however, is that, rather than progressing as a single entity, they sprawl, grow and extend as a whole, as if a microcosm of the districts existing urban sprawling and population expansion. As interviewed from Urban Landscape professor from the polytechnic university of Hong Kong, W.K. Lam, “infrastructure solves urban problems, but a good and modern infrastructure not only solves problems, but grows and lives with its urban landscape” ( personal interview, Lam, 2021) and Tsuen Wan foot bridges is definitely a good example of such: maybe this is the infrastructural beauty and modernist essence of Tsuen Wan foot bridges.
Notes
1.
typical connections and accesses of footbridges in HK
2. Spatial settings of foot bridges in HK
3. Design variations of foot bridges in HK
elevated walkway, Central -- outdoors/ indoors
circular footbrige, Causewaybay
train inspired foorbridge, Kowloon Bay
4. examples of varying footbridges in HK
From Past Present,
driven factors of expansion of Tsuen Wan Footbridge Nga Man, SHUM
The Tsuen Wan Town Footbridge Network (TWTFN) is one of the most well-known elevated pedestrian footbridge systems in Hong Kong, also the most extensive network of seamlessly connected footbridges. The massive footbridge network allows Tsuen Wan residents to get to their destination without ever trying to step on the ground. As a result, Tsuen Wan has earned the honour of “City in the Sky.” (Lui, 2017) This essay will discuss the current state of the Tsuen Wan Town Footbridge Network, following by the elements that impact the growth of the footbridge network, such as geological concerns, government policies, and developer decisions.
Background of the Tsuen Wan Town Footbridge Network (TWTFN) The entire network appears to be a large trapezoid that surrounds and passes through Tsuen Wan’s metropolitan centre. Tsuen Wan Station and Tsuen Wan West Station are the two MTR stations in the area. Previously, the two flyover networks based on the two MTR stations were separated. However, after the completion of the 670m Tai Ho Road Footbridge A in 2013, the two footbridge networks began to join. (Highways Department, n.d.) (See Figure 1) Our study team counted approximately 40 footbridges during the site visit to Tsuen Wan. They are connected to over 20 shopping malls including CDW buildings and Panda Place, four government institutions, including libraries and community centers, and passes through more than 15 residential estates and structures. The extent of the footbridge network is extremely wide. According to Transport Department figures, the present two-way flow of pedestrians on the major river section’s footbridge during the
morning peak period is around 1,700 people per hour. (Lui, 2017)The Tsuen Wan Footbridge Network system supports the huge flow of people. Therefore, it is not uncommon for us to observe crowds on the footbridges. Yet, Tsuen Wan did not aim to build such a large number of footbridges at the first place. When the town was built, it was a satellite city with a heavy industrial presence. The development of public housing complexes and shopping centers were aided by large-scale reclamation and relocation operations. Nonetheless, as a result of Hong Kong’s economic reforms in the 1980s, factories in Tsuen Wan gradually shifted to cities in Mainland China due to rising labor wages and renting costs. The transformation of industrial buildings into commercial buildings was facilitated by the transfer of the industrial center. With its comprehensive community facilities and transportation, Tsuen Wan has grown into a self-sufficient new town. It had become a hotspot for the youth in the 1980s and 1990s, with
cinemas, video gaming centres and restaurants lining the street. (Wong, 2021) Till now, there are still many street shops from Yeung Uk Road Market to Ho Pui Street (Lui, 2017) , which were busy with human activities. The bustling streets of Tsuen Wan are gradually being covered by the vast Footbridge Network System, following in the footsteps of the third generation of new cities like Tseung Kwan O and Tin Shui Wai, transforming into the town of streets in the air. What are the key elements influencing the transition of pedestrian pathways from the ground to the air? The following sections will review the history of the Tsuen Wan Town Footbridge Network’s growth and the elements influencing the advancements. 80s, the first footbridge and the connected system The installation of the Tsuen Wan MTR station in 1982 (Buddist Sin Tak College, n.d.) provided geological incentives for construct
ing the first footbridge. The railway was lifted because of the hilly typology in areas around Tsuen Wan, Lai King, and Kwai Fong MTR stations. Contributing to the altitude of nearby MTR stations, Tsuen Wan Station had to be built on the ground to avoid a significant disparity in railway height, which is necessary for a secure railway system. The first footbridge in Tsuen Wan, which are the two overhead pedestrian passages outside the station exits on both sides and the shopping mall Luk Yeung Galleria, was built to coordinate with the elevated entries of the Tsuen Wan MTR station. (Lui, 2017) (Figure 2) Based on convenience and societal necessities, a footbridge network began to build around the Tsuen Wan MTR station and the commercial centre. One of the reasons for having higher exits is to provide a safer atmosphere and make it easier for people to move around. All neighbouring buildings were then planned to connect the MTR station to preserve a smooth human flow to the surround-
ing areas. The Tsuen Fung Centre and Waldorf Centre, for example, were lifted in 1987 and 1988 respectively, and are connected to the Tsuen Wan MTR station and Luk Yeung Galleria through a footbridge. After the pattern of footbridges connecting two entrances at the same level were revealed, all succeeding buildings were built in the same manner to join them. Tsuen Cheong Centre, Nan Fung Centre, and Tsuen Wan Government Offices are some well-known examples. (Lui, 2017) Tsuen Wan’s first footbridge network was built around the Tsuen Wan MTR station. 00s, Government Decision to disperse the flow of people Construction of footbridge is actually a political tool for the government to divide people and automobiles. It is also a useful method of dealing with traffic congestion in urban areas. (Wang et al. 2016) As a result, since the 1960s, the government has been building raised walkways. In Leighton Road, the first footbridge was built in 1963. (Hailways De
partment, 2007) Apart from the intention of separation, the government has a specific rationale for building footbridges in Tsuen Wan. Socially, the government was asked to construct infrastructure to disperse the residents’ flow due to the population growth in Tsuen Wan, which had progressed from an industrial satellite city to a self-sufficient new town as previously stated. Tsuen Wan established a more complete transportation system in 1974, 1982, 1998, 2003, and 2009, with the completion of the Tsing Yi Bridge, Tsuen Wan Line, Tsing Yi Station, Tsuen Wan West Station, and the Stonecutters’ Bridge. Citizens from various districts were drawn to Tsuen Wan because of its extensive transportation network. As a result, the district’s population rose from 200000 to 800000 people. (Wong, 2021) With a significant growth in population, Tsuen Wan has become an important centre in the New Territories West. The growing population has resulted in a slew
of issues in society. In 2007, the authorities noticed a number of “flow bottleneck” in the footbridges. During peak hours, for example, the elevated pedestrian walkway over Sai Lau Kok Road was full, with pedestrian traffic topping 5,000 persons per hour. (Figure 3)===Prior to the study, the government established an advisory committee for the Tsuen Wan Town Footbridge Network Expansion Project in 2002 to address the problem of crowding footbridges in Tsuen Wan. (Highways Department, 2020)As a result, different extension projects are being undertaken in order to alleviate the excessive human traffic on the footbridge, such as Footbridge A between Castle Peak Road and Tai Ho Road, Footbridge B between Tai Chung Road and Hoi Shing Road etc. The congested human flow has thus dispersed. (Highways Department, 2021) Present: developer initiated footbridges The economic benefits of footbridges has lured developers to build them. For example, the footbridges that connect Discovery Park,
Nina Tower, and Parc City, Clague Garden Estate, and Tsuen Wan Plaza, and The Aurora and Plaza 88, for example, are all privately owned. The developers chose to build the footbridge for a variety of reasons, including government pressure and economic incentives. To begin with, the property lease stipulated that private development projects must construct footbridges. The reason could stem from the government’s decision to build a large footbridge in Tsuen Wan. Many development projects in Tsuen Wan installed footbridges in compliance with the land leasing rules for the Tsuen Wan footbridge network. Furthermore, some developers may build footbridges to entice people to visit their commercial centers. They must pay for “footbridge licenses” and a land fee in order to build footbridges connecting their shopping centers. (Lui, 2017) Modern urban development, as a whole, follows the modernist paradigm and aims towards economic efficiency. (Tan 2014) When the main promenade in Tsuen Wan is lifted to
the sky, it is easier for developers to attract people by placing business center entrances on the same level. The footbridges that developers own and have built in recent years usually have a nicer appearance. (Figure 4)The reason for the meticulous upkeep is to maintain a positive image that would attract tourists. To summarize, the footbridges in Tsuen Wan were planned and built after the town’s establishment. As a result, the earlier footbridge development included numerous alterations and extensions. The development of the Tsuen Wan Town Footbridge Network has been fueled by a variety of factors from the past to the present, including direct motivation from the recently completed transportation network, government policy, and developers’ decisions, as well as indirect aspects of residents’ need for a high-quality living environment. Eleven footbridges will be finished and in operation in the coming years. The footbridges in Tsuen Wan are expected to fill the sky of Tsuen Wan until a full trail connects all the tiny blocks in Tsuen Wan.
Notes 1.
Extension
of
Tai
Ho
2. The First Footbridge in Tsuen Wan
Road
Footbridge
3. Crowded Tsuen Wan Footbridge
3. Privately-owned Footbridge in NINA MALL 2
FOOTBRIDGES AND EVERYDAY LIVES — HOW DO FOOTBRIDGE TRANSFORM FROM A SPACE TO A PLACE Yan,LIANG
“Bridge is nowhere; over the bridge, you feel an emptiness inside you. Bridge is nowhere.” —Mehmet Murat Ildan The street is not only a pathway but a public space. Yet, a footbridge does not allow pedestrians to hold back, wrecking the flexibility of a street. Some consider footbridges are turning a city into a castle in the air, merely a conveyor belt in the city. It is believed to have lost its connection with the community. However, to the inhabitants in Tsuen Wan, the footbridge is a necessity in their daily life. Having the longest covered and seamlessly connected footbridge network system in Hong Kong, Tsuen Wan has more than 40 footbridges connecting various malls and facilities from the center of Tsuen Wan to Tsuen Wan West. When the pedestrians, who rely on the street for their livelihood, walk from the ground to the footbridge, they bring their activities to the footbridge. Therefore, what kind of lifestyle and culture has the Tsuen Wan footbridges presented? Different from a mall and
a street, can the footbridge in Tsuen Wan be a public space that nurtures cultural uniqueness and be a place that everyone can enjoy? With Tsuen Wan and Tsuen Wan West station as the core and the root, the footbridge network in Tsuen Wan is continuously expanding and branching with various types of footbridges that connect schools, hotels, residential estates, shopping malls, and recreation facilities. As a “City in the sky”, rather than providing homogeneous and boring walking experiences, footbridges in Tsuen Wan displayed distinctive impressions and atmospheres of the dynamics and livelihood of this developing town. From Tsuen Wan Station to D•PARK, the enclosed footbridge with air-conditioner facilitates families with children to attend tutorial classes or weekend entertainment in D•PARK or residents who live there. With a favorable and monitored environment, this board and long footbridge is always full of
laughter, and people tend to walk at a slower and relaxing pace.(Chan, 2021) (See fig1) On the other hand, another footbridge also orientated from Tsuen Wan station to Lo Tak Court, closer to the district’s most chaotic area, demonstrated another engaging and diverse side of Tsuen Wan. This footbridge is crowded with people distributing leaflets, hawkers, and domestic helpers gathering under the footbridge. Since this circular and open footbridge is connecting destinations with varied programs, including: ‘printing shop island’, Nam Fung Centre(malls with many small and local retail shops selling accessories and electronic products at a low price), Lo Tak Court(food court), it is bustling with noise and negotiations between all members of all the public. Nevertheless, it also presented the coexisted and shared culture of pop products, food, and multi-social background within the district. Tucked away in the New Territories, where space is more generous, the buzzing neighborhood always prides itself on its unique plethora of activities
and the massive network of the footbridge. (Ho, 2021) Providing higher freedom, alternatives, and accessibility to different parts of Tsuen Wan, the footbridge in Tsuen Wan is a conveyor belt in the city and a place where multiple economic activities and social interaction could occur. Differences could collide and accumulate within a single place. (See fig 2) Although the footbridges have brought convenience and various opportunities to the district, some still suggest we avoid building more footbridges. The space of a footbridge is often a means of city planning, aiming at connecting shopping malls and specific destinations. The footbridge itself does not have many values and memories, so it is hard to be a place to culture a humanized community. The city space of a footbridge, a mall, and a station has become homogeneous, depriving the possibility of multiple interactions and shattering the bonding between people.
For Tsuen Wan, everyone may first be attracted by the impressively large number of shopping malls packed with things to do; however, what about the hidden side revealing the down-to-earth lives of Tsuen Wan people? For tourists or people from other districts come to Tsuen Wan, if they only try to travel through the footbridges, they will only be directed to shopping malls and miss the opportunities to explore many of the interesting places, shops or markets on the street, such as the livelihood of retail shops in Tai Ho Road and Markets in Chung On Street. Although you can still glance at most parts of Tsuen Wan from above when you walk through the footbridges, you may also feel that you are distant from the people or real lives in this district. Moreover, the footbridges divide the middle-class and lower-class consumption areas such as the old Tsuen Wan and shopping malls; Middle-class citizens hang around in the mall, while those living in the urban area and under the bridge have a different life. (Chiu, 2017) Eventually, inhabit-
ants in Tsuen Wan is divided into two factions: ‘bridge-lovers’ and ‘street-lovers’. Those who support having more footbridges in the city would claim that the bridges are inclusive infrastructure that provides more alternatives, especially when it comes to rainy or sweltering days. Moreover, it is also more convenient and safe for the elderly and the disabled to walk on the footbridge. While the opposing stance would say that the footbridges in Tsuen Wan are only directing the flow of people to malls, resulting in fewer consumptions at the streets under the footbridge and less interaction with the neighborhood. Therefore, is traveling by footbridge a suitable means to understand the city? What is the difference between the street and the footbridge in Hong Kong or Tsuen Wan? The experience of walking on a street is very distinct from walking on a footbridge: The street makes us feel that we are ‘living together with other people in the community.
Wherever there are shops and some pedestrian facilities, people will walk slightly slower. You might say a few words to the shop owners and have eye contact with people passing by, making you feel more connected to the community. Streets are not just functional, not just passing, but a place to live, interact and socialize with everyone. (Ng, 2018)With many symbols and hints to promote the adequate flow of people, there are different signs and maps on the footbridge to instruct pedestrians how to reach their destination efficiently. People flowing in the same direction will consciously walk on the same side. On the contrary, pedestrians have higher autonomy and freedom when walking on the streets. There are fewer instructive signs on the streets. They may randomly walk through the old streets and alleys. (Chan, 2017)The walking experience will be enriched and more exciting. The rapid living pace of Hong Kong people is not only due to their busy schedule but also shaped by urban design. People tend
to walk very fast on roads without scenery or shops, and this may also explain why people are walking very fast on the footbridge: Nothing looks good, so they want to get to the destination soon. That is also why many people think that a footbridge is a two-dimensional place, only guiding people to walk from destination to destination, restricting the movement of people, and framing the city in certain angles, limiting the content that people can reach out of the city. In Tsuen Wan, you may not feel strongly disconnected from the ground since most of the footbridges are semi-open spaces or have windows that you can look out or listen to what is happening around and below. However, the elevated sense of being and the fast-walking people’s oppression may still make you feel that you are away from the hustle and bustle. Eventually, you will choose to walk down to the street and balance your experience to explore the city.
As previously mentioned, society has
so many diverse voices towards pedestrian bridges, so how can we improve or better integrate the footbridge into the city? Is it possible for us to ‘steal’ the space from the footbridge? Modern urban planning commonly follows the modernist paradigm and prioritizes economic efficiency over the interests and needs of everyday city inhabitants. Wherever a pedestrian bridge is built, it is not only creating a transportation belt, but also creating a new piece of land for the city. Therefore careful consideration should be taken regarding the necessity and potential of constructing more footbridges. Alternatively, even if we try to modify or transform current footbridges, the preferences of local inhabitants and integration to the community should be considered. For instance, adding more resting areas or design with some of the instagramable and remarkable features will attract more people to visit the district and allow people to enjoy the city’s atmosphere from a mid-level perspective. Providing more chances for business or performances to happen on the
footbridges also allows opportunities for social engagement and cultural exchange. Foreign examples such as The High Line walkway in New York and Seoullo 7017 in Seoul are successful examples of how footbridges could cultivate cultural distinctiveness and promote urban spatial qualities of connectivity, verticality and complexity. (Miao, 2001)
Notes
Fig.1 People walking on the footbridge heading to D•PARK
Fig.2 The footbridge connecting Tsuen Wan Station, Nan Fung Centre and Lo Tak Court
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The Modern Architecture Guidebook Hong Kong’s built environment represents a unique site of inquiry in the global history of the Modern Movement. The Modern Architecture guidebook series draw from an inter-disciplinary toolkit of knowledge, references, and field studies to understand the processes at work in the built environment. Each walking tour in the series begins with one of the 98 MTR stations in Hong Kong as the meeting point. First opened in 1979, this modernist infrastructure has produced a city rationalized around transportoriented development. Organized around key themes (industrialization, colonization, environment, internationalization, migration, decolonization, counterculture, and globalization), the guidebooks present a critical yet open perspective towards the implications of large-scale modernist schemes on the environment and community.
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