Boston remains No. 3 most walkable city in the country for 2016
With slightly warmer temperatures ahead and no snow piles blocking sidewalks this year, you can take advantage of the fact Boston was, yet again, ranked the No. 3 most walkable city in the nation, according to Walk Score, a company that ranks walkability and is owned by the real estate firm Redfin.
As in the 2015 rankings, Boston fell just behind New York and San Francisco with a Walk Score of 80.1, increasing 1.2 points from last year.
The Walk Score is a measure of how easy it is to walk from any given address to nearby amenities, on a scale of 0 to 100. Scores between 90 and 100 indicate that daily errands do not require a car, while scores between 70 and 89 indicate that most errands can be done on foot.
Walk Score also notes that walkability can be related to real estate values.
In cities where the Walk Score is above average, homes can get a value boost of between $4,000 and $34,000 compared to a similar home in an area with below-average walkability. A high Walk Score can similarly increase office and retail values.
To determine a city’s score, Redfin “analyzed more than 10 million locations and computed more than 2 billion walking routes for 2,500 U.S. cities,” and then uses an algorithm to look at walking routes, amenities, distance to those amenities, friendliness toward pedestrians, and neighborhood data.
You can get the Walk Score for your specific address here.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com