Walkability Map Walking Equpment

There’s been a study making the rounds of late that has some good news for walking enthusiasts. Its’ conclusion is a bit of a surprise given the spread out/car oriented nature of the American culture. Simply stated, the study’s findings states that the higher the “walkability” of a neighborhood the higher the home values.

The Study Sponsor

The study was commissioned by CEO’s for Cities, a association of civic, educational, business and philanthropic individuals and groups dedicated to building and developing better, more sustainable cities. It examined 94,000 real estate transactions in 15 major cities across the US and compared the home value of with a “walkability score” developed by walkscore.com. It found that in 13 of the 15 markets studied, the higher the “walkability score” the higher the home values.

“Wakability Score”

What is the “Waklability Score” exactly. It a process developed by walkscore.com that calculates the proximity of a specific address to nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. using Google maps to do the plotting. It then applies its’ algorithms which assigns a value representing how many and what type of amenity destinations are located within a short distance (generally between one-quarter mile and one mile) of that location. It assigns a weight to each destination category and the result is an index ranging from 0 to 100.

90-100 – is considered a walkers paradise where everything can be done on foot and you don’t need to own a car

70–89 – is a bit more challenging but its still possible to get by without owning a car.

50–69 – is considered somewhat walkable with some stores and amenities within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require transportation

25–49 – car dependent – only a few amenities are within easy walking distance. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.

0–24 – completely car dependent : Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. Think farm house

A couple of things it’s not or doesn’t do. It doesn’t measure how pleasant or unpleasant the walk may be. You could live in a crime ridden neighborhood but have all the amenities close at hand. It follows straight lines in calculating time/distance from the amenities. And it doesn’t take into account walking amenities like the availability of side walks. However despite these short comings it is a crude but telling measure of how walk enabled a neighborhood is.

Home Value

The home values were adjusted for the characteristics of individual housing units. Such things as size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms and age as well as for the neighborhoods were they were located including the neighborhood’s income level and accessibility to employment.

Results The study showed a positive correlation between ‘walkability score’ and housing prices in 13 of the 15 housing markets studied. In the typical market, an additional one point increase in “Walkability Score” was associated with between a $700 and $3,000 increase in home values. If You want to read the complete study click here. All in all good news for those of us who enjoy walking. Not only does it improve our health, fitness and well being, it may make us a bit wealthier as well. Not bad. If you wold like to check you neighborhood’s “Walkability Score” click here Interestingly, of all the cities studied Las Vegas was the only one with a negative correlation. Surely has something to do with gambling but for the life of me I can figure out what it might be. If anyone has any thoughts, put them in the comments section. I’d love to hear them.

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