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Is your house close enough to the amenities of life to be a car free? What about your next house? A new Web site promises to help you figure out how walkable your neighborhood really is by rating how far you have to go on foot to do your errands and have a good time.
Walk Score, which is essentially a Google Maps mash up, has you enter your address. It then shows for you on a map how close a variety of services, ranging from restaurants to schools to drug stores, are in terms of realistic walking distance. This overall closeness is rated as a Walk Score through a special algorithm, with five categories from "Walkers' Paradise" to "Driving Only."
While they admit the Walk Score isn't the final say in what makes a neighborhood walkable, it's nice to see sites like this sprouting up to help us determine the right neighborhood to live in if the desire to leave your car in the garage is important.
EcoGeek's writers' houses ranged from WalkScore 15 (yeek!) to WalkScore 75 (very walkable.)
Via: Triple Pundit
See Also:
-WalkIt.com MapQuest for your Feet-
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Comments (7)
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written by Hank, July 24, 2007
I suspect you're exactly right. The site marked my neighborhood as "very walkable" but I have five bars, six restaurants, two parks, a large grocery store and a cinema within a ten minute walk. The gorcery store is less than a block away. I think whatever algorithm they use, stresses variety and proxmity rather strongly.
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written by Rob, July 24, 2007
It picked out a really good variety for me (although only a small selection as to what's actually available on the ground, and bizarrely missed out my excellent local cinema), but it was all in the 15-25min bracket. So hence the poor score, I guess.
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written by Joe, July 24, 2007
While the scoreing system may be a little wonky, especially with cultural differences and all, the real gem is that it is a quick way for people to see visually all of the important to daily life buisnesses that are close to a particular location. Who cares if your number is only 25, if it helps you to realize that there are 10 pubs near you, even though everything else is still far away. Your score may be low, but now you know about the 10 pubs!
Think of it not so much for people who have lived in their area for years, but more for people who may be new to an area and due to inexperience and ignorance might be driving further for resources that are actually quite close to them.
Think of it not so much for people who have lived in their area for years, but more for people who may be new to an area and due to inexperience and ignorance might be driving further for resources that are actually quite close to them.
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written by Alessia, November 28, 2007
Walk Score can be really helpful if you are going to buy a house but can’t choose the best region. But i think that Drive Score can be rather useful as well. I ve come across this tool at drivescore.fizber.com With Drive Score, buyers can see how close establishments are by car. My score was 50. The greater number of businesses nearby, the higher the Drive Score.
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written by Artes, December 02, 2007
Thanks Alessia! I've used that drive score service and was surprised how useful it can be!
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written by Vendi, December 04, 2007
I believe that walk score is cool, but nowadays more and more people prefer to drive cars. Homes are often located in an area where some establishments are easier to get to by car than on foot. I've recently found a type of service on drivescore.fizber.com which is called Drive Score. It shows a map of what establishments are in your neighborhood and calculates a Drive Score based on the number of places within a convenient driving distance. It doesn’t mean that drive score is better than walk score – they are equal and both necessary in the modern world!
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My complaint is that I live in the middle of pretty much the most walkable city in the UK (Cambridge), but apparently my neighbourhood is unwalkable. I don't have a car (don't even know how to drive), and don't even own a cycle. I only get the bus if I'm going out to the burbs. The site even picked out most of the places I walk to on a daily basis. Unwalkable?
I suspect that the problem is one of perception. I'd consider walking 15-20mins, or even half an hour, to get somewhere a fairly quick walk. I think most people on this side of the pond would think the same. I guess that's not true of the guy who built this site?