This study explores the spatial, social, and administrative conditions that shape Hong Kong’s grade-separated pedestrian networks. The integrated elevated pedestrian network was initially developed to facilitate internal circulation within the commercial centers when the city was undergoing rapid growth in the 1960s and 1970s. The vision was incrementally incorporated into statutory and administrative instruments as the city embraced a consumer-oriented economy. This study tracks the evolving concept of grade-separated pedestrian networks in Hong Kong, revisiting the critical actions and written notes in Hong Kong’s urban history from 1965 to 1997. The private sector was essential in building the multilevel pedestrian space and in making it a commercially viable urban model. An alternative perspective is proposed from which to consider Hong Kong’s public–private conflicts.