Does your city have an underground pedestrian network? What do you think of them?

I'm 82, and New England winters are hard for me to cope with. I would love to live where I could shop and be a part of a community without dealing with the cold and snow. Senior housing should be connected to a protected network like this one.

I believe doors between buildings are also for fire control. Although it's unlikely fire itself would spread through the PATH, the risk would be that a fire within a building could be feed by air being pulled in due to the chimney effect, thus making the fire worse. You'll note that many doors between buildings that stay open are actually held open by magnets. If the fire alarm goes off, the magnets deactivate and the doors close automatically, reducing the amount of air that can be pulled in to feed the fire. I agree that the PATH is amazing and should be expanded. Thanks for the great video!

Great video you earned a sub! But I disagree with 1 point you made. You mentioned that there should be more consistency/uniformity in design. While I agree that the wayfinding should be standardized, I feel the unique design of each space actually helps with navigation. As someone who lives within an hour of Toronto and visits around once per month, I am familiar with the buildings above ground but not the path system itself. When walking through, i am able to understand where I am in the city based on the building design. White marble and high ceilings? I must be in the BMO building. Sandstone and black accents? TD building. Burgundy literally everywhere? CIBC it is. It we took away the unique design, it would be way easier to get lost in the system.

As a tourist from Arkansas I spent an entire day in the PATH system and marveled at it. I accessed it in exactly the way you presented by arriving on Amtrak at Union Station and trying to get to the Hilton downtown. As a southerner I had bought and brought all manner of cold weather gear (it was January) expecting subzero misery. Within a half hour I was drenched in sweat and peeling layers off trying to undo my over-preparation. Lol I've never been so delightfully and completely lost in my entire life. I found the wayfinding confusing but DID learn to just pop upstairs to see what landmarks I could recognize (CN Tower, TD Center, etc) and then back downstairs assured I was going the right way. I also noted it's not 100% accessible to wheelchairs which surprised and disappointed me on behalf of the disabled. Coincidentally, I've also visited Calgary and its 15+ network and agree that seeing the streets from above was pretty cool and less disorienting and dark. Here in the states downtown Minneapolis has a similar above street walkway network and in Houston a nearly identical underground PATH system which, exactly like Toronto's, is decentralized and developed by each individual building's owner and developer. Just like Toronto this leads to some parts being really nice and others being kinda dumpy, but ANYTHING that avoids Houston's stifling and oppressive heat and humidity are truly welcome.

I just learned there are several closed off, due to high crime, underground walkways in NYC connected to the subway system. Probably has great potential if someone took an interest in making it nice and extended.

Montreal has what's sometimes called the "underground city" I used to walk from my condo to work 100% underground in the winter which is very cold in Montreal. It was super convenient!

Helsinki is building a lot of underground infrastructure and facilities which also does double duty as emergency shelters. They also have a pretty impressive downtown tunnel network for service and delivery vehicles and parking.

In Houston, you'd be insane to build underground with how often there's flooding. So yes, they went and built an underground pedestrian network.

The area around Shinjuku Station in Tokyo is full of underground mall spaces that connect the JR East, Tokyo Metro subway, Toei subway, Keio, Odakyu, and Seibu railway stations. Getting around them, alas, can be a nightmare even for long-time Tokyo residents.

In Houston too there is an underground thing similar to Toronto. It is used for summers tho obviously.

Minneapolis and Saint Paul also have the same sort of networks. A system of skyways that connect the 2nd story of building all throughout the downtown core. It is city owned in Saint Paul while in Minneapolis it owned by private companies that own the buildings. It is notorious though for making the city streets unwalkable because nothing is at street level.

You see, when you say PATH my mind immediately thinks of the PATH train in NJ/NY, lol

Chicago has a similar system to this. From LaSalle street through City Hall then Millennium station to the New East Side. The two underground subway lines are directly connected and the Loop lines are pretty close. It's a Godsent in the winter. No snow slush BS to ever get your shoes wet and several work lunch options around it. Hell when polar vortex dropped everything to -25 🥶. I was still able to get to my office on new east side without needing to put gloves on. In the summer, it's great for us locals whom want to dodge all tourists between State St and Michigan Ave by the millennium park pile up.

There's a Canadian movie called waydowntown which is about office workers that have a bet on who can stay inside the longest by using only the Calgary +15 to get around. It gets very surreal and funny.

The only place I’ve ever seen anything like this is the connections in Canary Warf in London, so on a much smaller scale but it’s still pretty cool to connect the massive high rises, mall and DLR and Jubilee lines together! One thing it does have is some pretty impressive public realm above ground aswell though.

I disagree with creating more required standards for the PATH, I feel like more requirements would discourage expansion from private organizations. Organized is very attractive, but sometimes a chaotic hodge-podge is more effective.

I think Underground cities are something possible "new cities" in America or Asia. I'm Italian, and I can say that If you try to dig pretty much in any big city downtown you will end up uncovering a lot of archeological ruins. But, Yes I like them and I wish there were more.

Superb video! While watching I was thinking, 'Are hospitals linked to the PATH system?'. At circa 7 mins you gave me the answer! Covid has meant that i have not visited Zurich for three years. I have therefore not seen the new complex which has been built just opposite the main entrance to the Airport terminal building. The complex includes offices, shops and....a Hospital! The complex can be reached from the terminal building, UNDER WHICH THERE IS AN INTERCITY AND S-BAHN STATION, without going outside. The airport's local bus and tram station has a roof, and is located directly between the terminal entrance and the entrance to the hospital.

The disorganized aspect of the Path in the sense of aesthetic consistency, IMO, may be its best feature. The tunnels look different, which encourages a sense of local identity. The worst feature, IMO, is the occasional rat hole, small sized tunnels which when one has the tunnel to his or herself can get rather creepy (particularly the older sections). This gets particularly annoying after 8-5p business hours when you can find yourself isolated and alone. HOWEVER, when the cold bites or the downtown is 5 C after a snowstorm, the Path can be a godsend.

Nice overview! I can't wait until CIBC Square and Sugar Wharf both connect up to the PATH. As for the seemingly unnecessary doors between buildings, I think the main reason is probably security. Especially since it's easy for anyone to enter the PATH at most points, each building's management wants an easy way to lock down their own block completely if needed.

The path was great when I lived in Toronto! I used to walk it around the downtown to keep warm in winter and keep cool during the hot summer!

I visited Toronto 25 or so years ago, and even back then I really enjoyed exploring down there. As a kid, without necessarily a specific destination in mind, it was always exciting to see what was around the next turn.

Edmonton also has a PATH: - 20 office buildings - 4 hotels - Rogers Place - Edmonton Convention Centre - Royal Alberta Museum + Art Gallery of Alberta + symphony hall + library + 9 live theatres + 9 movie theatres - City Centre Mall (which is undergoing a massive re-construction.)

The PATH network is something I took for granted when I was a little kid. Now I truly appreciate how great it is. Every Canadian city should have something like it in my opinion.

The closest thing to the path in London, is Canary Wharf shopping centre. As it connects the Docklands Light Railway to the Tube station, as well as to the office buildings. I do not know if there is any resdential buildings connected to it. There is no underground pedestrian network in Dublin, but I wish they would do something like it in Dublin. I can think of a department store and two shopping centres that can be easily connected to each other, by an underground path.

Canary whalf has a similar one in london!! It attaches the canary wharf DLR to canary wharf tube station via a underground shopping centre where the adjacent office buildings are connected!

I lived in places, where my way to the transit hub was across a shopping mall. In winter i was going through the mall, in summer the same. Spring and autumn i was going outside. So yes, it is definitely a feature.

The Path during after hours/weekends are a literal ghost town in my opinion

Who else is binging this wonderful channel on Christmas day 2021?

You might find the Minneapolis skyway network interesting as well, although that’s less transit related

A marvel of modern engineering. I love PATH. Come discover amazing Toronto.

I've been able to use Toronto's PATH, Montreal's RESO, Calgary's +15, and even some of Hong Kong's downtown indoor/covered networks I found it so much easier to use, especially when I was going to work at different locations downtown TO. There's a podcast episode by *99% Invisible* that describes how the Minneapolis network took away some of the street life and further separated who was "supposed" to be using the indoor networks and creating a class divide as well as just ignoring those who live on the streets It's a nuanced issue but something to think about anyway, thanks!

Tokyo's underground network works similarly. Sapporo's underground is very useful during winter too. Taipei has one as well great when raining or hot outside.

I've walked on the PATH network occasionally when popping into the downtown core whenever I came down from the other boroughs of the city. Only time I hated being in the PATH is whenever I was rushing to make it to the GO train to get back home on-time. Otherwise, whenever I just went there for an "entertaining adventure of exploring random buildings" I found the underground and slightly disorientating aspect kind of fun. Something about some buildings looking different from the others makes each section feel unique. The decentralization of some of the pathways being on different levels also makes it more exciting for the adventurer side in me. I also welcome the new connections that are above ground as a nice mix of both worlds. While I somehow prefer being underground, I don't mind a nice walkway with a view above street level. Might have to just get down sometime soon and go for another walk again. Great video.

Chicago has a pretty big network of underground and covered walkways connecting a ton of buildings in the Loop. I know of its existence, but I'm embarrassed to say I don't think I've ever been inside it except at one point where it also serves as the transfer point between two subway lines. I should probably check it out at some point.

There is a small version of this in the Canary Wharf district in London, with three smallish shopping malls, the Underground and DLR stations (and presumably the soon to be opened Crossrail Station) all connected by an underground network of pathways. But then the original developers of Canary Wharf were Olympia & York, who were based in Toronto, so it's not hard to see where they got the idea from.

Edmonton and Winnipeg have systems too. They were both a mix of above and below ground. I’m not sure how the scale compared to Calgary’s for scale.

As a regular at the PATH (I go to the office every Wednesday), here's a pro tip: The cardinal directions are colour coded on the signage. Less helpful for colourblind people, but super handy for those who know. You know where you are heading based on what the accent colour on the PATH signage is.

The problem with PATH is that it's like walking through a very large and very boring mall. It's not easy to navigate and unless you're super familiar with the downtown buildings and their names, you really have no idea where you are. It's a decent labyrinth to get lost in, although nowhere near as cool as getting lost in a place like Alfama in Lisbon. But the PATH does keep you warm in winter and cool in summer, so fair enough.

Rather than "decentralized," I would say "privately owned." In some cases by business rivals who do not want to cooperate. And in other cases by companies who dug out their basements at different depths long before the Underground City was a thing.

I didn't know this kind of things existed, so cool !

Perth in Australia uses its terrain to its advantage in this respect. You can travel on foot from the museum at ground level, over a road, the railway (through the station), another road, and a pedestrian mall, then continue through a shopping centre to come out onto a pedestrian mall at ground level, all without going up or down a single flight of stairs or any ramp of significant grade. It makes walking around the CBD so enjoyable to have all the malls, tunnels, and overpasses you can use to about crossing the road. The train station alone connects to 5 distinct areas separated by surface roads, without requiring a crossing.

Reso (Montreal's "underground city") was one of my favorite parts of living in Montreal. I could get from my apartment to work without ever stepping foot outside during the harsh winter. That commute compared to driving somewhere can't even compare.

Never lived in Toronto but I used to visit there often and I used PATH a lot. I never had any problem finding my way around but I've always been good with directions. Enjoyed using it quite a bit, especially in the summer when it was hot outside. I do have to mention that in the old days when I went to Toronto it wasn't nearly as easy to get into the city from the airport. There was no rail service yet. You had to take a bus to the nearest subway station, and the buses didn't run nearly often enough. It is nice that there's a train now. I even used the short-lived high speed ferry service between Rochester and Toronto a few times while it existed. Too bad the demand wasn't there to keep it going.

When we lived at Yonge and Eglinton in Toronto, our apartment building was connected to Yonge Eglinton Centre (a mall) by a tunnel. From there we could connect to the Eglinton Station and take the subway to PATH downtown. We could leave our apartment in the depths of winter without a coat and access quite an impressive array of shops, restaurants and other amenities. Of course we never actually did go out in winter without coats, BUT WE COULD HAVE if we chose to, and that's what's important. 😉

Love these "underground" cities. Can be daunting for the "directionally challenged". Have gotten turned around in Montreal's underground city, and just finding the entrance to the below ground stores can be challenging, even when guided by a native. But, in sub-zero winter, they're great!

The University of Minnesota has a mostly underground network called the Gopher Way - ‘cause that’s the school mascot, and gophers live underground. Get it? Not so useful in days of Covid, unless you have card access to the buildings. Doors between buildings are for fire suppression and security.

Definitely feeling "transit envy" after watching this. Canadian cities have so many transit options. US cities build a light rail (if you're lucky) and then just call it a day.

Always thought a nice addition would be for the PATH to go right into the Rogers Centre!

We moved to Ottawa a few years ago, I miss the PATH. I spent about 10 years downtown between Ryerson and then work. I was in the PATH every day and knew every square inch of it. Such a cool space.

As a Vancouverite, I'm actually kind of jealous of Toronto/Montreal/Calgary systems. In Vancouver, there seems to be this idea that underground spaces are bad. The underground space around Granville and Granville (Expo Line), City-Centre (Canada Line) and Waterfront really should have been linked up properly when they built the Canada Line... but there isn't even a great transfer, requiring you to go through the Bay The Fastest transfer is still at ground level and across two crosswalks. I know Vancouver doesn't have bitterly cold or swelteringly hot weather, but the rain in the winter definitely would make a a moderate amount of underground space very welcome. Even if this is just corridors connecting a few of the stations in the CBD.

I’ve been familiar with Montréal’s “underground city” since the sixties. Some Métro stations were part of the mix. For example, Bonaventure station had a large mezzanine level right over the tracks which connected Central Station with Château Champlain and (then) Windsor Station. The path to Central Station also connected to Place Bonaventure, Place Ville Marie and the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. A number of other venues, including Place des Arts, were also connected via various stations to the system. I now live in the GTA, and my visits to the Montréal area are limited to family in suburbia. Ironically, I had more opportunity to visit that city when I was still living in the Maritimes. My visits here in the nineties reacquainted me with the sheltered city concept. But, as you mentioned, way finding back then was terrible. It was like the property owners weren’t concerned with pedestrians wanting to pass through, but wanted everyone to stop and shop. Sorry, but when I’m proceeding from the Sheraton, bound for Union Station, I want to know the quickest way.

I'm hopeing that at some point downtown Vancouver will also connect up all their underground minimalls and shops and what not into a network too

I wonder if any city has done a budget version of this: covered sidewalks. It would make sense in Seattle or Portland where the weather is generally pretty temperate but it also rains a ton.

Chicago has a shortish underground pedestrian network from the Millenial Station. It's a bit grungy and could use some extension, but one can go from the Metra Electric/South Shore Line to the Red and Blue lines of the Chicago El.

In Japan, this kind of thing is called Chika-gai (underground city). Some of chika-gais are big enough to connect multiple train and metro stations such as Shinjuku, Tokyo, Namba, Osaka and Odori, Sapporo.

When my daughters were toddlers, I would take them down to the PATH on Sundays during the winter and watch them just run around until they finally wore themselves out. We'd sometimes wander onto the platforms in Union Station to look at the trains,. They loved it.

5:33 yo, that wall is awesome. 10:03 I feel like the areas' design not being consistent is a good thing - it's like walking down different downtown streets - it helps with giving you a sense of where you are, and it gives every area a different character, rather than being this boring homogeneous tunnel. Perhaps there are downsides I don't know about, not having walked it myself. Also, I'm surprised you didn't mention Asian subway underground station complexes - some of which, such as in Tokyo, can be absolutely huge, big enough for me to consider it a network, although not on this scale. They connect stations with many, many different buildings and streets, and sometimes when stations are close enough they connect stations too. Although it's not a single network, I think if you added up Tokyo's 'transit oriented tunnels', it would be much longer than 'the path'. Not to say the path isn't great - of course the interconnected nature has many advantages.

Cincinnati, Ohio used to have an expansive Skywalk system in downtown. I remember parking on the northern side of downtown and having to walk only 2 blocks outside to get to a ball game. Enough people complained about foot traffic on the street that it has been demolished. Only a few large Fortune 500 level companies retained their skywalk

The PATH is awesome in Toronto. I've used it for many years for work & walking adventures. The only problems I have with it is that the shops shut down too early during the week & most are not open on the weekends. Its basically a ghost town on weekends when you get to the towers . FWIW the doors are for fire code & for security reasons. I also like the changing aesthetics of the space as it relates to the buildings above............to have The PATH corridors all the same would be bland & boring.

more cities in north should build completely indoor connected public pathways. especially if there is an expectation that there will occasionally be major snow events that might be too big to plow

10:23 maybe there are a ton of doors for fire containment purposes?

Imy biggest critique is that the PATH it's taken a lot of pedestrian traffic and the vibrancy that comes with it to a mostly corporate underground complex away from city public spaces at street level. I'd much rather have a network of nice pedestrianized streets that connect to various parts of downtown than a maze of corporate chains

It would be nice to see the light of day here and there to know whether it's light or dark out and what the weather is. Sunlight is also healthy. But yes, in a city with harsh winters it is quite convenient to be able to make most ways without getting wet or cold (as long as you find your way).

Nice video about this interesting pedestrian network connecting subway stations. Maybe I missed something, but did you mention its history? PATH stunned (and confused) me already back in 1988, when I visited Toronto, and Wikipedia reveals that the network already started in the 1960s. I remember having encountered subway-connecting underground malls also in Tokyo and, at a smaller scale, in Beijing.

Wow this just put Toronto on my bucket list I don't get to travel often but thankfully there are things like this in NYC so I can attest to the benefits (my favorite is Fulton St + World Trade Center + Brookfield Place in lower Manhattan). However, the streets are the opposite of dead! So what can other cities learn to have ped networks without unlively streets?

VERY VERY INTERESTING!! There is a US city that is PED bridge that connect. I think it called the Skyway. It the southern US states not sure if that is needed. Great video!

Having explored both the PATH and the RÉSO, I think Toronto's version has a big edge in terms of having a consistent grade. In Montreal it seemed much more common to have to take an escalator down a flight, walk under a street, and then take an escalator back up again to get to the next building. Most of the system isn't really deep enough to be below street level. Whereas in Toronto, other than some notable exceptions like the south end of the TD Centre which you showed, you can largely between move buildings on the same level, with just an occasion ramp or small flight of stair here or there. Like you can walk from Scotia Plaza to First Canadian Place to TD Centre to Commerce Court without going up or down in any real noticeable way.

I've visited some systems like this in Asia, with large ones in Shanghai and particularly Taipei. I think they're pretty great, especially for these places with quite extreme weather. I'm not a huge fan of the weird private public space thing though, because it can lead to the building owners taking advantage of the power that they have over what should be public space. 99% invisible did a good episode on the raised pedestrian network in Minneapolis which addressed these issues well.

I love the path in Toronto and the plus 15 in Calgary I have use them in the winter time Winnipeg has one too its not very big have never use them I have been underground pathway it has a few stores it connects to approximately 7 offices buildings on Main St and Portage Ave farther down on Portage Ave there is a plus 15 walkway connects to two malls, office buildings, hockey area, parking buildings, hotels and convention center and library

Carleton university in Ottawa has a pretty mind blowing tunnel network connecting most, if not all, of the campus. Not everyone wants or needs to use, but when I did want it, it was a blessing to have. And as you mentioned, that was almost always during the frigid winter months that it was most appreciated. Didn't even have to put my coat back on for the whole day after arriving to campus in the morning! Thanks for this video, as always. You just pump out so much good, informative content, and it truly makes me want to stay in the KW area in connection to Toronto because of the growth and expansion I can imagine, especially if more people really clue in to the info you present.

Reece, A lot of those little "Doors" you mentioned (10:20) between buildings, they have small or short tunnels. Those are usually where the tunnel is going underneath or "across" the STREET above!! So they had to be built in in order to support the street and all the traffic that drives along that street.

The series of malls and passages spanning out from Taipei Main station is quite impressive. It doesn't cover as much distance as the Toronto Path or Montreal Reso, but I'd wager that the number of services, businesses and homes attached is about the same. Anyway it was my favourite place to escape the face-melting summer heat

Not related to this but something you could keep an eye open on. The last train on the Orangeville Brampton railway ran on Friday. I wonder if there’s any plans to run any transit up along that way or if it’s destined to become just another trailway at best. Regardless it’s sad to see another short line abandoned

In transit, PATH to me means Port Authority Trans Hudson in New York. Under the Hudson River from New Jersey to New York. Manhattan Island, of course.

the doors between buildings on the path network and other similar systems are there for fire control and the doors if held open will automatically close if the fire alarm in ether building goes off

The same could be said and applied in my nearest big city, Kuala Lumpur. The equatorial, tropical climate here is always hot and humid, add in the hilly terrain that Kuala Lumpur is plagued and you get one hell of a walking nightmare. This however was partially solved with some implementations of overhead walking corridors, especially between KLCC (Financial area) and Bukit Bintang (Entertainment area). I do wish to see an inclusion of a similar project like the one in Calgary, where overhead corridors are available between buildings, providing an escape from the tropical heat while also adding a new way to enjoy the city.

In Minneapolis we have a pretty extensive skyway system between buildings. It too developed building by building and therefore it has many inconsistencies between buildings. It also connects directly to many parking garages (for better or for worse). It too does not reach to every part of the downtown core and there are many missing links in some areas. As the city is redeveloping and repurposing many former industrial areas, especially those closer to the Mississippi river, they have been working to address these particular missing links. This would increase wintertime accessibility between the waterfront (mostly residential towers with first floor commercial use) and access to the Metro Transit Blue and Green LRT lines. At this time those new residential areas are severely underserved by bus lines and cut off from the rest of the downtown are by a very nice stroad that some might refer to as Washington Ave. Minneapolis experiences similar weather year round to that of Toronto, but instead of lake effect snow in the winter, we get bitterly cold wind that blows off of the Canadian great plains. That makes walking outside for any extended period of time very dangerous. Then in the summers, the city can be seen with a meager number of bicyclists but the city and the surrounding region really has to do better when it comes to building bike and pedestrian streets.

Winnipeg's is nice too for their wicked winters

One of the big reasons for doors between buildings in the PATH network is fire safety. If there's a fire in one building, there's a degree of isolation from surrounding connected buildings. You often see signs above these doors saying "Fire - Do Not Enter" that light up if there's a fire alarm.

Toronto's PATH System reminds me of the pedestrian tunnels we have down here in Houston. Comes in handy since summers in Houston is face meltingly HOT!

I once stayed in Metrotown, a TOD above Tiu Keng Leng MTR in HK. As in Toronto, you could land at the airport, take the train to Downtown, shop at 2IFC, etc., without leaving an air conditioned paradise. Hong Kong is likely more muggy than New Orleans!

I’m a Toronto resident and I absolutely love the PATH! I wish there were more mini PATHs in other locations like North York or Yonge and Eglinton.

Cincinnati Ohio had a similar thing, but it was all overhead pathways. It was privately funded with the purpose of supporting retail. However as I recall the building owners decided to dismantle it, as it split retail traffic between the street level and the second level, and made each of them less sustainable. (Plus they could lease the second floor as offices if it wasn’t retail.) I do remember enjoying it and being able to get to several coffee shops without going outside. It was quite nice.

10:38 My guess is fire control. Whenever there is a fire, you close doors.

A friend of mine who walks every day finds the PATH a good way to get in some kilometres during winter. In addition there access to many washrooms. He often meets me at Union Station as I travel in from Montreal. I don't use it frequently enough to get my bearings.

Informative video! I love the PATH!

The various underground and above ground metro station path and mall network in Hong Kong always left an impression on me. it's so nice

Doors can aid in air pressure control in these tall buildings. This is why you sometimes feel "wind" when opening the doors. Due to heating, if there is leakage at higher floors, the heat will rise and the building can draft upwards like a chimney, creating a negative pressure (and thus airflow through the entrances) at the bottom.

The oldest portion of the PATH was the tunnel connecting Union Station to the lower floor of the Royal York Hotel. It's closed off right now, which is a shame, because this segment built in 1927 really gave the system a feeling of history. What really made it take off was the building of the TD Centre, those magnificent black towers designed by the great architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. He connected all the buildings of the complex with a massive underground shopping mall. Afterwards, anyone who built anything adjacent to it, especially the rival banks, who wanted their own underground malls, couldn't resist connecting to it. By the time tunnels reached City Hall via the Sheraton Hotel, people began to grasp that there was a whole thing. Recently, walking around the TD Centre, I noticed that most of the original interior decor designed by Mies still looks beautiful. He was very strict about using high quality materials, so almost everything still looks new after more than half a century. Fads come and go, but his aesthetic choices made everything about it timeless. Most of the other towers in the area are just boring boxes, put together to satisfy the corporate bean counters, with no originality.

Urbanists: "Skyways and underground networks siphon off pedestrian traffic from the surface, deadening the street life of a--" *Canadian winter hits* Urbanists: "--oh, screw this, we're all Morlocks now."

The ones I have visited in Great America are in Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Dallas, Houston and Des Moines. I love them all and feature a good look at some of them in my US cities playlist. The dead streets thing is super pronounced in Des Moines where half of the connections are to or through Parkades (ugly, brutalist car storage structures). The Houston network is called The Tunnel. Dallas can't seem to decide if it is expanding or demolishing theirs. 🔄

There also is a network of tunnels that interconnect the university, the Ontario parliament, the General Hospital and some buildings like the Banting Institute and the nurses residence. The tunnels house mainly utilities, pipes, wires, but also have pathways for workmen and for people like me who know about them. So if you know which utility doors to go in and out of the attached buildings, you can really navigate Toronto underground.

In Hong Kong, there are residential buildings directly connected to shopping mall and MTR(subway) station. A lot of people prefer this type of residential estate because of its convenience.

In some Chinese cities often metro stations will connect with underground malls or other places similar to this Toronto PATH that allows you to get to some major landmarks but the system is not as big as Toronto

The biggest problem with the PATH and no doubt most others is the time it consumes between say going from A to B. A building at Yonge/Wellington to a building at University/Wellington may take 10min to walk outside. In the PATH it could double to 20min depending on crowds, attractions, broken escalators, etc. As to the doors between buildings is to regulate air pressure, and probably more so now - security. But just amazing the amount of pressure say opening a roof hatch on one building and opening the street level doors on another building that can be created. Maybe not felt so much in the PATH - but elevator shafts, venting systems, conduits, etc. Some incredible gales can develop in them.

The Minneapolis skyway system is really similar! But relies on skybridges between skyscrapers instead of being underground

Could doors between buildings be a safety issue. Think about if a severe fire broke out in the PATH? Smoke could rise up into all of the buildings if there were no fire doors separating sections

Your summary at the end really made me think of my trip to Minneapolis. I love the city but their downtown is pretty dead for pedestrians on the street. Their elevated walkways have all of the restaurants and other shops that normally would be downtown, but they are also kind of tacky and very confusing in places. It was weird to walk from my hotel to get a burger and have to go inside another building and down a hall to enter a restaurant that looks out on the sidewalk I was just on.