Walk Score, company known for its metrics having to do with walkable cities have once again come out with the announcement on the most and the least walkable cities in the United States. Once again, city of New York has topped the list, garnering the recognition of the most walkable city in the U.S.
San Francisco is once again in the second place, only this time somewhat further behind NYC than in previous years, most notably in 2011.
Walk City uses a special algorithm to come up with their rankings, an algorithm based on walking routes available in the city, pedestrian friendliness, as well as population and neighborhood characteristics of the cities examined.
Another trend that has been observed over the years is still valid this year, with the Boston-New York- Washington Corridor being the most walkable in the country. For instance, Boston ranks third, Philadelphia is in the fourth place, Washington D.C. is seventh and Baltimore is also high in 10th place.
However, it is not all about old winners. Some cities are rising in the rankings, proving that these are not set in stone.
For instance, Miami has jumped from No. 8 to No. 8 on the list since 2011. This is attributed to the unprecedented condo boom, which means high-density developments springing up all over the city. This has also resulted in the population in such areas becoming younger, which resulted in increased walkability. The most obvious example of this is the neighborhood of Brickell.
