How walkable is your neighborhood
What is a Walkable City?
A walkable city is one that is designed to offer restaurants, entertainment, shopping and other amenities and necessities all reachable without the need for a car. Things that promote a walkability are density, mixed use, public transit, short blocks, numbers of destinations and the following:
- A center – a main street or a public space
- People – enough people for businesses to flourish and for public transit to run frequently.
- Mixed affordable housing located near businesses.
- Parks and public space for recreation or gathering
- Buildings are close to the street, parking lots are relegated to the back.
- Close Schools and workplaces
- Streets designed for bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit
Living in a Walkable city offers many benefits other than just convenience. Residents of a Walkable City see improvements in health, environment, finances, and overall community.
- Average residents of a walkable neighborhood weigh 6-10 pounds less than those who live in sprawling neighborhoods.
- Cities with good public transit and access to amenities promote happiness.
- 82% of CO2 emissions are from burning fossil fuels. Limiting the use of cars limits these emissions.
- Cars are the second largest household expense in the U.S. One point of Walk Score is worth up to $3,000 of value for your property.
(All stats and information are referenced from WalkScore.com).
So are you convinced? Ready to find a Walkable neighborhood? Now you can search a city or neighborhood based on it’s Walk Score. A Walk Score is a international measure of how “walkable”. 0 = Completely Car Dependent, 100 = Walkers Paradise
Find the Walk Score of your neighborhood or one you are interested in:
- From your smart phone go to http://chooseahomenow.com.
- Click on the search box.
- At the bottom of the screen look for the tab “Nearby”
- Select the home nearest to you, the first on the list.
- Scroll down and look for “Walk Score”. The higher the score, the more walkable your neighborhood is.
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