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Measure the "walkability" of your neighborhood

by Iva Skoch on May 9th 2008 at 9:30AM

My home address (in New York, not in Prague) scored 92 on the Walk Score site: A walker's paradise.

I am not surprised. When I'm there, I walk everywhere: I walk to get my coffee, I walk to get my groceries, I walk to the post office and to the library. I don't have a car, so I am not even tempted to drive. I am pretty sure I would suffocate in a place where you have to drive everywhere. I have tried it before and I quickly realized it was not for me. As much as I love a good road trip, "commuting" doesn't really do it for me.

Americans don't score well when it comes to walking. According to this Market Watch article, fewer than 6% of all trips are by foot. Fewer than 13% of students travel by foot. Some three-fourths of all short trips Americans take -- less than a mile -- are made by car. One-fourth of all car trips made are less than a mile. That is a frightening statistic if you ask me.

How walkable is your neighborhood? Plug in your address here and the walkability of your hood will be revealed.

Filed under: North America, United States

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Eva May 9th 2008 12:08PM

Weird. My Ottawa address got a 70, but I have everything I could possibly need within a few blocks. Maybe they've got better data on places like NYC and Chicago? The site didn't seem to know that there's a branch of the Ottawa Public Library just a few minutes away...