Monday, July 21, 2008

What's your neighborhood's Walk Score?

Here a site that let's you look at the "walkability" of a
neighborhood.

http://walkscore.com/

There's a lot of variability in the scores. I typed in addresses I was personally familiar with and got a "0" in one case and a "98" in another.

The 98 is downtown Evanston, IL, near the Northwestern University campus where pretty much everything is within walking distance.

Two of my sisters live at places rated "5" and "0" -- I think the 5 is a bit harsh, but the 0 is pretty much correct since there's not a school, or a park, or a store of any kind within 2 miles. This is a 1970's suburb, by the way, not a ranch in Montana.

Not surprisingly, it works with available data, which is Google maps locations of stores, schools, and parks. Nothing in there right now about sidewalks or crime.

It works in the UK as well. "10 Downing St" scores an 87 -- very walkable.

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