| URL | walkscore.com |
|---|---|
| Type of site | Walkability index |
| Registration | No |
| Available language(s) | English |
| Launched | 2007--> |
Walk Score is a large-scale, public access walkability index that assigns a numerical walkability score to any address in the Australia, Canada, United States and New Zealand.[1]. Other services include a transit score and an apartment search that locates potential residences based on commute time. Walk Score “ranks communities nationwide (and soon, globally) based on how many businesses, parks, theaters, schools and other common destinations are within walking distance of any given starting point."[2]
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Walk Score was founded in 2007. The company’s mission is “to promote walkable neighborhoods... one of the simplest and best solutions for the environment, our health, and our economy.” [3] The index serves more than four million scores per day from more than ten thousand participating websites.[4]
In July 2011, the website ranked the 50 most populous cities in the United States according to walkability.[5]
According to the site's creators,"The Walk Score algorithm awards points based on the distance to the closest amenity in each category. If the closest amenity in a category is within .25 miles (or .4 km), we assign the maximum number of points. The number of points declines as the distance approaches 1 mile (or 1.6 km)—no points are awarded for amenities further than 1 mile. Each category is weighted equally and the points are summed and normalized to yield a score from 0–100. The number of nearby amenities is the leading predictor of whether people walk."[6]
In 2011, Walk Score unveiled an Apartment Search tool that locates available housing based on commute time to a given location. The tool calculates commute times for various modes of transport including walking, cycling, driving, and public transit.[7]
Walk Score has developed a variety of tools for real estate professionals, such as neighborhood maps and APIs. Multiple independent studies have demonstrated that above-average walkability correlates to increased housing values: in the metropolitan areas studied, higher Walk Score typically added US$4000–$34,000 per home.[8] The company also provides data to leading research institutions, academics, and city planners including:
This information is available in formats including spreadsheet, GIS shapefile, and API.[9]