Walkable cities in high density China : livable, healthy, and sustainable

Living in the city is often tiring; extended stretches of urban fabric exhibit a profound hostility towards all inhabitants and not only towards the young, oldest, or disabled. Observing the city from this point of view requires mobilizing an observation strategy capable of discovering daily living practices (Certeau, 1980), questioning ourselves as to the reasons and causes of this fatigue and hostility. Recognizing that while sometimes this is due to the lack of services, facilities, and spaces, it often seems rather that the fatigue and hostility are attributable to faulty organization, incorrect operating methods, discontinuity and inaccessibility, and a lack of walkability. These tend to cause inconvenience, discomfort, insecurity and sometimes danger: the excessively far-away school, the discontinuity of the sidewalk or bike path, the fragmentation of green spaces and the difficulty in reaching them, so far the inefficiency of rainwater catchment system along the roads and sidewalks which become impassable.