![]() This aligns with the concept of people-oriented streets, the urban planning practice of making roads safe to cross and filled with amenities people need (restaurants, banks, salons etc.). Those in cars spent more money on one trip but frequented downtown less. ![]() A 2008 report of San Francisco’s downtown found that public transit users and walkers spent less on each trip downtown but made more frequent trips, which meant they spent more money overall. ![]() People also tend to spend more money in walkable cities, stimulating the local economy. When a resident walks, the cost to the city is a penny. If a resident decides to drive, it costs the city $9.20 in services like policing and ambulances. According to Speck’s book, if a resident takes a bus ride, it may cost them $1 but costs the city $1.50 in bus operation. Walking also costs the city very little, unlike cars and even public transit. If cities seem less automobile-dependent, chances are they are more appealing to a range of ages. And according to the National Association of Realtors, 62 percent of millennials prefer to live in a walkable community where a car is optional. According to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, 63 percent of millennials and 42 percent of boomers would like to live in a place where they don’t need a car. Investing in walkable cities, whether through allocating funds to repaint pedestrian walkways or building affordable housing close to downtowns, also attracts diverse populations and creates jobs. According to a 2009 study, each additional walk score point resulted in home values increasing between $500 and $3,000. Cities with high walk scores also have high property values. The idea is marketed based on a few big benefits, according to Speck’s book, one of them being economics. Walkability is great for the economyĪmerican city planner Jeff Speck has been advocating for walkability for the past 25 years, and in his new book, Walkability City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places, he carefully outlines how to “sell” walkability and then implement it. But a city’s walkability is dynamic and can be improved with people-oriented city planning, which will benefit the local economy and make societies more equitable. Walkability is treated as a static part of a city your city is either walkable or not. The average walk score of all American cities with a population of over 200,000 is 49. On Walk Score’s one to 100 scale that evaluates cities with a population of 200,000 or more, New York City is the most walkable city in the country with a score of 89, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, is the least walkable with a score of 29. A city’s walkability, per Walk Score, is determined by analyzing how many errands can be done without a car, and cities with the highest scores (like Boston, New York, and San Francisco) often come with an incredibly steep cost of living. ![]() You’ve probably seen the term “walkability” thrown around in relation to cities, neighborhoods, and even apartments. ![]()
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