WalkScore: Walkable City Website

There’s really nothing better for the environment than leaving the car keys at home, throwing on a pair of sneakers and hitting the pavement. Studies have show that compact, walkable neighborhoods allow people to make fewer trips in their cars, travel less to meet their everyday needs – and thus reduce their contribution to global warming. The question really is- is your neighborhood walkable?

Seattle-based civic software company Front Seat is determined to give you the answer. The grass roots operation has just completed a makeover of its one-year old site, www.walkscore.com, where it has unveiled the top 10 most walkable cities and neighborhoods among the nation’s 40 largest cities. The national walkability list is the first list that looks at 2,508 neighborhoods nationally and identifies the closest grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops and other amenities near a given address. Type in an address and presto, the neighborhood is given a walkability score from 1-100 (100 being the most walkable). The coolest part is that in addition to comparing addresses or just looking up a current address’ walkability score the site now features a walkability “heat map” for each city with green areas demarking highly walkable neighborhoods and red areas demarking unwalkable areas. So not only can you find your own neighborhood’s score you can browse neighborhoods to which you may be thinking of moving or visiting on your next trip.

-- Margaret