Brandon Donnelly — Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly. — Page 1039

This morning I took the mid-level escalators down to Hong Kong station so that I could catch the express train to the airport. At over 800m, it is supposedly the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world.

If you’ve ever walked the streets of Hong Kong you’ll know that the ground plane can be inhospitable at times. There’s limited space, but no shortage of steep pitches. I can’t imagine having a physical disability and trying to navigate this city.

So this system must have been a real innovation when it was constructed in the early 90′s. In total it moves up and down about 135m in elevation. That’s about the equivalent of a 45 storey tower. And I got down from the mid-levels and was on a train to the airport within 15 minutes.

But because the streets here are so narrow it’s a unidirectional system with one line of escalators. They bring people down to the CBD during the morning rush, but then the direction flips and they bring people up the hill for the remainder of the day — until midnight I believe. Living near these escalators is considered a win.

Hong Kong Island surely isn’t the easiest of environments in which to build and operate one of the world’s most important global cities. There’s relatively little developable flatland. But they more than made it work by being creative and by building up. Hong Kong is not just a tall city, but a truly vertical city.

Too bad my efficient morning commute was followed by a cancelled United flight. Tomorrow is not going to be a fun day travel.

This morning I took the mid-levels escalator down to Hong Kong station so that I could catch the express train to the airport (for a United flight that ultimately got cancelled). Supposedly, it is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. 

If you’ve ever walked the streets of Hong Kong you’ll know that the ground plane can be inhospitable at times. There’s limited space and steep pitches. So this system must have been a real innovation when it was constructed in the 90′s. It takes you up and down about 135m in elevation.

Because the streets are so narrow it’s a unidirectional system. The network of escalators and walkways brings you down to the CBD in the morning and then back up to the mid-levels for the remainder of the day.

Hong Kong Island probably isn’t the most natural of environments to build a major global city. But they more than made it work.

One of the pedestrian overpasses in Central has an exhibition running right now called Density 2.0. Here is a photo of one of the posters talking about Hong Kong’s typical “8-units-per-floor” tower plan.

Noteworthy is the fact that the floor plates contemplate minimal tower separation distances. This allows multiple towers to be built right beside each other. As a point of reference, the guideline in Toronto is 25m between tall buildings.