The Civic Exchange think tank on Wednesday urged the government to start prioritising pedestrians over vehicles in urban planning.

It made the call after releasing results of a study which found that major districts like Central and Kwun Tong are not pedestrian-friendly.

Spokesman Christopher Law said even minor changes like putting more plants on footbridges can make a difference; but real change will only come from a whole new mindset.

"We have had for almost 50 years a mind-set of a car-based or a motor vehicle-based city that gives far too much priority to vehicles. I think we really need to look at a balanced view of what make a good city, rather than a single issue driven city planning. I think if we can change our own mentality, including myself, fellow professionals and policymakers, we have got a very good chance of making other things happen", he said.