Gas prices are on the rise. About one third of the American population is obese. Collectively, our vehicles release over 1.7 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, which contributes significantly to global climate change.
Clearly there’s a great need for more walk-able, bike-able, and transit-friendly development in our country. But what is it that makes a community more friendly to pedestrians and less appealing to drivers?
One of my favorite resources for determining the “walkability” of a neighborhood is walkscore.com. All you do is plug in an address and the site comes up with a score between 1 and 100.
From my experience, I’ve found it to be pretty accurate. In the past 6 years, I’ve lived in 6 neighborhoods in 5 different states. The years I drove the most were my college years in Tampa, Florida. My neighborhood scored a 46 back then, a nod to the sprawling layout. Funny enough, my highest walk score (92) actually came from Montclair, NJ, which isn’t even a city. Indeed I could and did regularly walk to the coffee shop, laundromat, library, hair salon, train station, pharmacy, and grocery store.
The walk score is determined based on a number of factors: distance to various amenities, block length, density of intersections, etc. They’ve also added a transit score and commute score so that you can get a more complete look at your transportation lifestyle, which I think is more helpful. For instance, although my current neighborhood in Brooklyn ranks lower (76), I find it easier to get around without a car because of how accessible and interconnected the public transit is.
There’s also some interesting research being done to figure out what causes people to take to the sidewalks more often and for longer trips. Zhan Guo, a professor of Urban Planning and Transportation Planning at NYU, did some research on the subject in Boston. He identified a correlation between the amount & type of amenities along the route and the pedestrian’s perceived length of their walk. What he found was that in downtown Boston, the average pedestrian perceived a 10-minute walk to be 7-8 minutes. Read more here.
If this is the case, then walkscore.com is definitely on the right track with their scoring system being so heavily based on amenities. But of course, it’s much more complex to determine what makes a neighborhood more appealing to pedestrians. The folks at Walk Score acknowledge that the current algorithm doesn’t take into account the following important factors:
“Street design: Sidewalks and safe crossings are essential to walkability. Appropriate automobile speeds, trees, and other features also help. Safety from crime and crashes: How much crime is in the neighborhood? How many traffic accidents are there? Are streets well-lit? Pedestrian-friendly community design: Are there narrow streets with buildings close to the sidewalk and parking relegated to the back? Are destinations clustered together? Topography: Hills can make walking difficult, especially if you’re carrying groceries. Weather: In some places it’s just too hot or cold to walk regularly.”
What do you think are the most important factors for creating a walkable community?
