It is the world's most extensive pedestrian skywalk system, with a total length of 16 kilometres (10 miles) and 86 bridges connecting 130 buildings, as of 2022.
The central core of the system is a series of enclosed shopping centres, and the city's flagship department stores.
New developments were required to connect to the walkway system; in exchange for this, they were offered more floorspace (the "bonus density").
[4] In 1985, graphic designer Lance Wyman created a wayfinding system featuring a person wearing a cowboy hat.
Critics continue to claim the system is detrimental to culture and economic activity at ground level, however proponents argue that its heavy use points to how useful and convenient it is in cold weather.