Walk Score: Comparing My New and Old Neighborhoods

Michael Giberson

At the Freakonomics blog they mentioned Walk Score, a website that will calculate walk-ability for an address based on number of nearby stores, parks, and other useful places.  They admit that there scoring formula doesn’t get everything, but it did a reasonable job comparing my new address in Lubbock, Texas and my old address in Falls Church, Virginia.

New: 65 (“Somewhat walkable”)

Old: 95 (“Walker’s paradise”)

Well, “Walker’s paradise” might be a modest exaggeration, even for a place practically just around the corner from Brown’s Hardware and the State Theater, but relatively speaking I guess it is a walker’s paradise.

For most of my daily travels, “Somewhat walkable” understates the attractions of my new location, less than a mile from the university.  And in both cases it is/was about 1/4 mile to the nearest coffee shop, so they are equal on that important factor.