Different paving treatments can enhance the aesthetics, and send a visual cue about the function of a street or walkway. For example, an asphalt surface "reads" as motor vehicle space, while brick or cobblestones imply at least a shared space.

One way to judge quality in a city is to observe how people spend their time there. A good city not only provides a place where people can enjoy walking from one point to another, but also an environment where they want to linger and partake in recreational activities. Copenhagen and Malmö have become such cities. Many pedestrian streets have been established for walking, while square after square has been set aside to encourage people to stop walking and engage in leisure activities.

Despite the impression most visitors to Copenhagen have today, the city did not just naturally maintain its original charm. In fact, by the 1960s Copenhagen had become noisy, and heavily trafficed. Fortunately the city center still maintained its medieval street pattern, and was dominated by aged buildings at an appropriate human scale. For the past 30 years, Copenhagen has embarked on a policy oriented toward reducing the impact of car traffic upon the urban center, and restoring the conditions for all users. In the process it has created one of the most liveable and people friendly cities in the world. The book Public Spaces - Public Life, by Jan Gehl and Lars Gemzoe, describes the multitude of small but consistent steps the city has undertaken to transform its car-oriented city center into to a more people-oriented one.