Walkable Neighborhoods
It’s amazing to me that so many of us spend years trying to get to that home in the “Burbs.” We are conditioned to want that lovely, huge house on a tree shaded lot with an expanse of St. Augustine grass in front. It’s the American Dream!
Yet living in the suburbs is so impractical. There is the factor of maintaining that enormous house, and the energy it takes to keep it air conditioned to just the right temperature. The lawn has to be watered (and, boy howdy, it takes a lot of water!), then you have to mow it. From the suburbs, if you want to go anywhere you have to get in that car and drive. This does not make for a simplified life, nor for a less expensive life! As the price of gasoline continues to soar, I think people might be moving back into the city.
I know I will do that. I’d love the opportunity to walk to the grocery store if I’d like, or step down the street to go to a restaurant. Though it’s still in the future for us, as we have a lot of downsizing to do, I hope to move us to a “walkable” neighborhood.
Walk Score can help me find it.
What is a “walkable neighborhood?” I am considering it to be a more densely populated area with shopping, restaurants, and entertainment smack dab in the middle of it. I expect the streets to have slower traffic and be pedestrian friendly.
Walk Score can tell you a lot of good reasons for living in a walkable neighborhood, but we know most of them already. Our feet don’t emit greenhouse gases (though they might not smell like roses). A study reported in The Seattle Times indicates that people who live in the “sprawling neighborhoods” of the suburbs are more likely to be overweight. That’s not surprising. Living in a neighborhood with a high “walkability factor” is good for the environment and for your health.
I tested the walkability of my neighborhood, and discovered it only ranks a “54″ out of “100.” That’s better than George W.’s ranch (which ranked “0″) or Bill Gate’s home (which ranked “11″). It’s not good enough.
Walk Score shows where shops, stores, and parks are located from any given address (to the extent that those are updated on Google). It doesn’t tell you if the sidewalks are good, if a freeway divides a neighborhood, if there are a lot of hills, or if you need to carry a can of pepper spray to navigate the area.
Still, I think it could be an excellent tool for choosing an area in which to shop for a home. I’m going to keep it in mind as we get closer to time to go house hunting!
