Several prestigious universities in China's capital of Beijing have decided to embrace more open campuses, and the existing walls shutting off the outside world will be torn down, says the municipal's urban road planning authority.

Universities to tear down walls to open campuses

The city's Haidian District, a hub for tertiary education, will pilot a city-wide program to "optimize the road networks," and several schools of higher learning – including Renmin University, Beihang University and the Beijing Institute of Technology – have already re-planned streets and blocks inside the campus.

The move comes after a central government guideline on urban planning that called for the opening up of gated communities to the public road system this February.

While aiming to optimize the road network and save land use, it has triggered uproar among netizens who expressed concern over potential risks.

Some say that many school campuses are already very crowded and that a further opening up will make the traffic even worse and add to safety concerns.

Others point out the positive side, citing that tearing down campus walls will ease traffic in the neighborhood and on the other hand facilitate the integration of universities into the surrounding city life.

Authorities explained that the decision was based on thorough studies and will improve road accessibility and form a microcirculation system for urban network.

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