Skywalks are a unique typology of second level covered pedestrian networks linking parking and downtown destinations. They were implemented throughout North American cities to attract pedestrians and sustain retail in central business districts. The relative rarity of skywalk systems (Robertson 1994), their relevance to the particularities of American urban design history (Fruin 1971; Robertson 1994) and their position at the intersection of major concerns of the 20th century American city: traffic (Fruin 1971; Robertson 1994), downtown revitalization (Robertson 1994), and identity (McMorough 2001) provided the departure point for examining skywalks as 20th Century heritage.
As the viability of skywalks is questioned, this paper employs a toolkit based on the theory and values of heritage preservation to evaluate skywalks as built heritage. The results are used to determine appropriate management solutions that utilize the significance of skywalks to take them into a new cycle of sustainability through re-use and preservation.