Can you walk to buy groceries? To school or work? To your favorite restaurant? To the nearest hospital? These are just a few of the factors that are
taken into account when determining just how walkable a neighborhood is. Walkscore.com
ranks neighborhoods in the US,
Canada, and the United Kingdom
on a scale of 1-100 for their walkability. A neighborhood with a score below 50 is considered
“car-dependent.” A score of 90 to 100 is a “Walker’s
Paradise.” Sarah C., resident blogger here at MWW, lives
in a DC neighborhood with a Walk Score of 98. And, to boot, she walks to work every day!

With skyrocketing gas prices and increasing rates of
obesity in our country, it’s no wonder people are becoming more concerned about
the walkability of their communities. What
makes a neighborhood walkable? According
to Walk Score, it’s about having a pedestrian-friendly central area of town
where most businesses, schools, and public spaces are located. The site recently released a list of the most
– and least – walkable communities in the country, with San Francisco and New York
coming out on top. Certain neighborhoods
in these cities scored a perfect 100! (e.g. San Fran’s Chinatown)

Walk Scores for cities with the highest walkability … 1. San Francisco: 86 2. New York: 83 3. Boston: 79 4. Chicago: 76 5. Philadelphia: 74 6. Seattle: 72 7. Washington, D.C.: 70 8. Long Beach, Calif.: 69 9. Los Angeles: 67 10. Portland, Ore.: 66 … and the lowest walkability 36. Oklahoma City: 43 37. Indianapolis: 42 38. Charlotte: 39 39. Nashville: 39 40. Jacksonville: 36

 

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