Walkscore released rankings of 40 walkable cities in the United States. This ranking shows what the most walkable cities are (excluding suburbs). Dallas and Fort Worth appear on the list. Walkability is, to me, one of the most important aspects of a city. While many cities have reasonably walkable neighborhoods, it's great to be in a city where walking can be done in many places.
When we were deciding where to move, we didn't have this list in front of us, but wanted somewhere walkable. We discussed in a previous post how we chose Seattle, but we started with a list of cities that we ranked based on factors important to us, and it's interesting that our list is very similar to the list of the top 10 highest Walkscore cities below:
- San Francisco (appeared in our list)
- New York (appeared in our list)
- Boston (appeared in our list)
- Chicago (appeared in our list)
- Philadelphia (appeared in our list)
- Seattle (appeared in our list)
- Washington D.C. (appeared in our list)
- Long Beach
- Los Angeles
- Portland (appeared in our list)
Weather, affordability, and other considerations helped us select Seattle, but it's nice to see that our analysis still reflects this Walkscore list pretty closely.
I found it interesting to go through this list and look at the maps of individual cities. You can see which neighborhoods are most walkable within the city and, even cooler, see the walkability distribution on a color-coded map.
Another interesting list along with this is the new list of walkers' paradises, which identifies the most walkable neighborhoods. Even the least walkable cities have some walkable neighborhoods. Different cities have different sized neighborhoods, which has some impact on which neighborhoods appear on this list, but it's interesting to see what some of the most walkable neighborhoods are and which cities have some of the most walkable neighborhoods.
Few people are as interested in walkability as I am, but it will become much more important to most people as gas prices, smog, global warming, and health become greater topics of concern. Besides, on top of how walking will become encouraged by finances, health, and the environment, for a lot of people, walking through a walkable neighborhood is very enjoyable and better than driving.
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3 comments:
One thing that seems to be common in the walkability of neighborhoods is established high density areas. Downtowns and such. So with that, people are forced to walk due to high parking rates and traffic. It is not necessarily a choice but a matter of economics. Along with the change in transit habits, this causes a market for local stores. Because of the captured market of walkers, these local stores are usually higher priced.
Walkability therefore could be a symptom of other problems within a neighborhood.
So which came first? The walkability or the problems that causes the walkablility?
Walkability seems like a real estate term to mask other problems. After all, most anywhere you can walk.
But sometimes it is nice to be in a car, out of weather, with a radio and a perception of safety with power locks.
Very good points
You can walk anywhere for leisure, but walkable areas let you walk as a means of transportation. Yes, walkable areas often restrict you to just walking (or taking a bus/train), just like unwalkable areas restrict you to just driving as a means of transportation.
I'm not sure which problems you're referring to that walkability is a symptom of. Driving can be nice on occasion and so can walking. I'd rather save money by ditching my car, even if it means I have to pay more at "higher priced" stores.
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