Douglas Craver · How does your neighborhood score?

June 25th, 2008

Great example of the programmable web in action. Walk Score will only increase in popularity and usefulness as gas prices go up:

Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking.

Your Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100. Here are general guidelines for interpreting your score:

  • 90 - 100 = Walkers’ Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
  • 70 - 90 = Very Walkable: It’s possible to get by without owning a car.
  • 50 - 70 = Some Walkable Locations: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
  • 25 - 50 = Not Walkable: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
  • 0 - 25 = Driving Only: Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

WalkScore

Category: Cleveland, Social Media, Technology

7 Responses to “How does your neighborhood score?”

  1. Jill McCauslin Says:
    June 26th, 2008 at 3:16 pm

    This is a great concept but my neighborhood ranked much better than it should have. There were all kinds of goofy things listed that don’t really exist. It claims there’s a Taco Bell a quarter mile from my house right in the middle of a park. I’d have to drive 10 miles to find a Taco Bell! It has a hardware store in the middle of a residential area. Not very accurate.

  2. Derek Arnold Says:
    June 26th, 2008 at 4:45 pm

    Interesting since I am considering moving and walkability is on of my primary concerns.

  3. Derek Arnold Says:
    June 26th, 2008 at 4:48 pm

    Where I used to live in Barberton had an 85 score (near Lake Anna, right next to downtown).

    Where I currently live in Massillon has a 3.

  4. Michele Says:
    June 27th, 2008 at 2:07 am

    I live in the “hood”, one would think that we would score at least a 50, that right this is Lorain, a whooping 42 and some of the stores they have listed one would only go there as a very last resort, not. We don’t have a book store, the computer store doesn’t count.

    Jill is correct some of this is not accurate, but here in Lorain things come and go at the blink of an eye. So actually our score should be much less.

  5. Jill Says:
    June 28th, 2008 at 2:11 am

    Mine was a 25 and yet, I’m barely a mile, maybe less from two shopping areas, the library and the schools. BUT - we have NO sidewalks and a LOT of traffic.

    Very interesting gizmo - thanks!

    Oh - and the blog looks nice!

  6. Derek Arnold Says:
    July 1st, 2008 at 12:49 am

    I wonder how the results of the site compare to the walkability numbers in the June 2008 Cleveland Magazine where they rate the suburbs…except for East Cleveland, of course.

    While we’re on that, why does East Cleveland get excluded? Last I checked, East Cleveland is a suburb of Cleveland. That’s (according to 2006 population estimates) 25,213 people not counted.

    Why?

  7. Steve Gleydura Says:
    July 1st, 2008 at 3:10 pm

    The walkability numbers in Cleveland Magazine are a much more simple figure (miles of sidewalk divided by center-line miles of roads) for an entire suburb. This is a cool tool, though, especially for the individual homebuyer. There are quirks, however. It missed Gunning Playground as a park in my West Park neighborhood (which scores a respectable 54) and lists Fairview Hospital Medical Library as a true library.

    By the way, East Cleveland was dropped from Rating the Suburbs because the police department has been unable to deliver crime figures to Cleveland Magazine or the FBI for the past two years.