European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 18, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Skywalk Are revolutionizing Urban american life by Lisa Belkin new York times he temperature in Houston just Brake 100 or the third consecutive Day bul Linda Gibbons was nol even warm Sho did her banking Lef her pumps at inn Shoemaker Lor new heels pier Al up the photographs she dropped Oil Tor developing the a before Tad a manicure and bought Hei lunch and she never stepped outside Gibbons a Secretary at a downtown Law Oil ice spends most summer Days in Houston s air conditioned system of underground tunnels and second Story skywalk about so mlc3 of corridors connecting 88 downtown buildings architects and or Bamst Call her lifestyle the Way of the future with dozens of cities Kohng to build such systems in the last me years or to expand the ones they already have and while economics no weather is the main motivating Force behind the construction of Tunnel and Skyway systems hot Summers Ike this one can Only encourage the building of More. At the beginning in the 60s and 70s, Iho cities that were putting in the skywalk were the cold weather cities Minneapolis is. Paul  said Kent Robertson associate professor of local and Urban a lairs at is. Cloud stale University in Minnesota. Now All Iho activity is in the warm weal her cities Dallas. Charlolle. N c., even some in los Angeles. Aller this summer thai trend May Well accelerate " but the indoor City while coot in the summer and warm in the Winter is nol necessarily a comfortable idea those who study the walkways and those who use them say Iho systems Toster a two class society with the poorer people outside on ground level and the wealthier people inside and insulated and some tear that their shopping mall sterility strikes at the heart of Urban Lile. The problem is not thai they won t work bul thai they la work Loo Well said William h. While who stands on Street Comers and studies pedestrians on behalf of the american conservation \ association ii you remove All the people irom Iho sidewalks of downtown do you really have a Down oven anymore the Basic question Here is what a Acly is a cily?1" in now York. The cily of White Plains is about to Lind Oul. Construction has recently begun on the lust skywalk in a system Hal will Evo Lually link four downtown buildings to a commuter garage and Railroad station Columbus Ohio is also considering a Skyway system As is Tampa fat. In while Plains As in most of Iho 30. North american cities with such systems the air Condi Limong is Only a fringe Benefit. Although a much appreciated one. Shelter irom the weather is important to the people who walk through the tunnels and Skyway but irom the standpoint of  officials they Are a Way to revitalize a downtown area that is in decline. You Don t spend $ 0 million to build a big umbrella said James a. Thompson director of traffic and transportation Lor Des Toines where he said the City contributed Hal figure to build its Skyway and private Industry spent the same amount and More Vou Don l do in to keep people warm he said you do it to save the City indeed most o these systems Aie in places where hot weather is nol usually the problem places like Minneapolis and Duluth Man Spokane Wash Syracuse . Milwaukee and smaller cities including Rochester Minn is John neb and Rome . Several Are in Canada including Toronto Montreal and Edmonton Alzorla but others Are in cities that have Long broiling Summers Allan la Dallas and fort world. Lor example and they can be almost anywhere that the weather is not perfect Lexington by Cincinnati and Wichita Kan. Fargo  already has skywalk linking  blocks has just approved plans Lor two More. Des Moines. Which began building its system in 19b2, now has 33 completed Bridges and to under construction. Is Paul whore skywalk connect 32 City blocks Andrj where the temperature this summer has reached 105 degree built its most recent Bridge last summer hotels with a local of More than 900 rooms have Access to the system. The first citywide systems Are thought to be Toronto a which Dales to 1890, and Houston s. Which began in 1947. Both systems were an attempt to Cope with the weather and escape ram the elements is still a major pan of their Appeal. But the reason for the proliferation of skywalk and tunnels is less the weather than the suburbs. In Dos Moines for example where retail business had moved almost completely to sprawling suburban shopping malls rules from downtown the thought was that by pulling skywalk on the second level of buildings retail corridors could be created Al Iho entrances to those sky walks shoppers would Stop to buy while walking to the garage or to lunch. The idea appears to be working. The Skyway connecting stores in downtown Minneapolis la Well used. In Fargo the second floors of iwo downtown buildings that had been vacant until Iho skywalk were built arc now Lully occupied. Rents in buildings connected to the skywalk have increased by up to 400 percent since 1983. Said pal j. Zavoral. Deputy director of planning for Tho cily. While rents in other parts o town increased by 5 percent. In is. Paul a Survey found thai 89 percent of the City s residents prefer shopping on skywalk level to shopping on ground level. Three fourths of the retail business downtown is now done or. Houston s underground Tunnel system connects 88 downtown buildings. The skywalk level and real on Hal Lovel is Aboul $2 More per Squario foot there Are technical problems to building these systems. Such As ownership of the walkways some Are owned by the cities. Others by private businesses and some Are jointly owned and the question of Secundy to is usually the responsibility of the owner bul Thoro Are More Complex problems Loo. The Skyway lend to connect luxury holds upscale department stores and while Collar office buildings said Robertson of St. Cloud Solo University often you have logo Inlo Tho lobby of that building to enter the system and that May be an inh middling experience Lor people who feel hey Don l belong i see Hal As a problem of course some people like it that Way " in Houston Lor example in the heal of Hie afternoon Only Blue Collar workers mostly Black or hispanic people use the outdoor sidewalks to gel from place to place. Homeless people who Are regularly ejected from the tunnels linger on the sidewalks too Tho tee Cream Vendor on the Corner a common sight in the downtown Lection of Many cities is an anomaly there while Collar workers Lor the most part Are in the air conditioned tunnels beneath the Street. Outside the skywalk Are said by some to duller the Skyline in Des momos a Walkway cuts across Locust Street blocking what was once a sweeping View of the Iowa Capitol. Inside some critics say. Tho walkways have removed the essence of City life with Lac