Walk Score is a website that takes a physical address—enter yours here—and computes, using proprietary algorithms and various data streams, a measure of its walkability. More recently it’s started tracking how transit-friendly neighborhoods are too. What drives the score is choice and proximity—the more amenities (restaurants, movie theaters, schools) you have around you, and the closer they are, the higher your Walk Score.
Based in Seattle, the Walk Score team's software is used by hundreds of sites, thousands of realtors, and home and apartment seekers. Of course, the developers aren't planners, they're software creators. So, they can tell you the Walk Score is at a condo in downtown Houston, but they can't take into account the walk score of the little old gal who walks her dog down a country road, and has a great plum tree nearby that she stops at and picks plums for breakfast.
So, it's not really YOUR walk score, it's the score of where you live. For example, where I live rates 3 out of 100, since there are no amenities nearby. BUT, that doesn't mean I can't walk all over my 'hood. It just means it would take me 2 hours to walk to the dry cleaner. If I went to a dry cleaner. However, I'd have to say MY walk score is closer to 85, since I walk at least 30 minutes every day, hit over my 10,000 step goal and always park as far as possible in any parking lot.
But it does help you look up amenities and their distances from your shack. I had no idea there was a brewery 4.48 miles away from my house? Huh.
It also helps you compare the walkability of where you live versus your friends, family and area neighbors. Walk Score can even help you locate a better house or apartment if you want to live somewhere with a high walk score (I wish I did!), and can even rate the street/sidewalk quality, through their Street Smart feature. They can also help you rate your commute and polish your silver.
Okay, it doesn't really polish the silver, but neither do it, so we're square.
Walk Score is pretty cool. I just found it today and am now pining for a small house in a low-populated town where I can walk to get groceries and see a movie. If I ever move, you bet that I will be using Walk Score to help make the decision of where we land.
Yes,
Dani
