 "Photo: Paul Chouy")
Residents in the University area and Austin's downtown district can get by easily without a car, according to a study released Thursday.
WalkScore.com, a project of Seattle-based civic software company Front Seat, ranked the "walkability" of more than 2,500 neighborhoods in 40 of the largest U.S. cities.
Walk Score developed a computer algorithm to measure walkability, which incorporates information from Google AJAX Search API, the 2000 U.S. Census and Zillow, an online real estate service that lists neighborhood boundaries.
The "Walkers' Paradise" category, which requires a score of at least 90 out of 100, means people can accomplish most errands and carry out day-to-day activities without a car.
The UT area, including campus and West Campus, ranks as "very walkable," the project's second-highest ranking.
Chay Walker, senior agent manager at Austin-based Uptown Realty, said walkability is less of a concern for students looking for a place to live.
"More or less, students are really concerned with two things: the price and the proximity to campus," Walker said. "Walkability is at the top of the criteria, but it's not that much of an issue, because most of Austin is walkable."
Three New York City neighborhoods - Tribeca, Little Italy and Soho - topped the list of 138 Walkers' Paradises, while some Dallas and San Antonio neighborhoods received a walkability score of 90 or above.
The vicinity of grocery stores, restaurants, schools and parks determines the walkability score.
"Some cities were designed or developed before the advent of the automobile and around the pedestrian lifestyle," said Clark Williams-Derry, a member of Walk Score's advisory board and research director at Sightline Institute, a nonprofit research and communication center that promotes principles of environmental and social sustainability.
"Because of high gas prices, people are less willing to pay premiums to live on the urban fringe, and those kind of places are losing property value," Williams-Derry said.
The institute will also use information from the study to continue researching a possible correlation between walking and real estate prices, he said.
The study also ranked the walk scores of residents living in the 40 most walkable cities' neighborhoods to see how much people are actually taking advantage of their city's walkability.
About 18 percent of Austin residents have a walk score of 70 or above out of 100, while 51 percent have a score of at least 50, according to the study. The scores are based on how easy it is to live without a car.
The city of Austin scored 49 out of 100 in its overall walkability.
Jullianne Ballou, an undeclared liberal arts junior, transferred to UT from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., and lives in West Austin, which was ranked in Walk Score's "car-dependent" category. Walla Walla made the "very walkable" category.
"Walla Walla was a little more convenient, because it wasn't as crowded," Ballou said.
Be the first to comment on this article!