A Walkscore Urbanity

nobody@vox.com(Phil) — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:17:56 -0700

Where I live, city officials and developers are pursuing something like a humane redevelopment of a rebirthed urban core. As a way to this goal, reviving a noble pedestrian existence has made the top of many lists. Such an existence is one in which walking to and from work, home, and play is not just a figment of the past, but a present reality.

In a recent issue of the New York Times magazine, a fascinating web 2.0 Internet application was featured that attempts to quantify just this kind of walkable urbanity with a number. That site is called Walkscore (www.walkscore.com). Type in your address and you can find out how easy it would be to live in a place without a car, or, put differently, to live in a place where you could walk to most of the things you needed.

Here's how it works. The more things you can walk to in your neighborhood means that you're going to be more healthy, you're likely to have more transportation options, getting places will be better for the environment, and you'll see an increase in social capital--an elusive measure of how livable a place is.

A score above seventy is deemed to be an indicator that it is pretty walk-friendly. A score below twenty-five means you're likely driving everywhere. Plugging in my address registered a barely double digit number. (Better keep the gas tank filled!) On the other hand, plugging in my city's downtown registered a whopping 92.

While this is great for folks who live THERE, suburbanites like myself are not without options. I've started riding my bike here and there and taking the bus to work. I even rode my bike to the Chinese restaurant nearby the house with my daughter to pick up our carryout order the other day. What fun!

So, wherever you live, your "walkscore" can be the start of something good for you and for your city. Check it out and see what your score is. Then, let me know what ideas you come up with!

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A Walkscore Urbanity