Pedestrian Neighborhoods

By Larry Hotz, Senior Editor

Are you an avid pedestrian?  Do you like to walk to the grocery store, the dry cleaners and the coffee shop without venturing too far from home? Or, maybe you are a Denver relaxation buyer who already lives in a walking city.

If you are an avid pedestrian, there’s a new website that ranks neighborhoods based on their “walkability”. It might help you find a “walker-friendly’ neighborhood where you’d like to live. WalkScore uses a mathematical formula to rank neighborhoods based on their walkability. 

Many factors go into determining this score for particular neighborhood.  A walkable neighborhood should have a discernible center.  The density should be relatively compact so that amenities such as transportation are readily available.  It should have mixed income and mixed-use according to WalkScore.  It should have plenty of parks and public spaces.  Buildings should have a Pedestrian-centric design so that they are easily accessible by foot and close to the street.  Schools and workplaces should be in or near the neighborhood.

WalkScore has teamed with Denver Metro West to provide this information to Realtors.  But, the public can also access the information directly at the website and through the MLS public website.

Last week, I spent two days with relocation buyers moving here from Washington, DC, which is a very pedestrian friendly town.  They specifically had asked for neighborhoods that were easy to walk.  I hadn’t yet heard about this new website.  So, I explained what I thought were the best neighborhoods for walkers based on my experience.  Surprisingly, I missed a couple of neighborhoods that were highly rated by WalkScore.  So this new website will be a good resource for me too.

It seems that some of the nations largest cities have the most walkable neighborhoods according to their website.  Medium-size cities like Denver may have an inherent disadvantage because few neighborhoods meet all of the criteria listed above.  For example, the Washington Park neighborhood would meet most of those criteria but there are no workplaces in that neighborhood.  Still, it’s very pedestrian friendly.

Denver neighborhoods that rank high for walker friendliness included Capitol Hill, The Golden Triangle and Cherry Creek. Interestingly, the score must not include any factor for crime in its mathematical formula. Both Golden triangle and Capitol Hill have above-average crime rates.  So, it would probably be a good idea to use my “Interactive Crime Map” in conjunction with WalkScore to find out the overall desirability of the neighborhood for walker friendliness.

Here are the top hundred and 138 neighborhood scores in the nation according to WalkScore:

Rank/Neighborhood/City/Score

1Tribeca, New York100

2Little Italy, New York100

3Soho, New York100

4Garment District, New York99

5Chinatown, San Francisco99

6Murray Hill, New York99

7Chinatown, New York99

8Financial District, San Francisco99

9Financial District, New York99

10Old Westport, Kansas City99

11Midtown, New York99

12Greenwich Village, New York99

13Chelsea, New York99

14Battery Park, New York99

15Pearl District, Portland99

16East Village, New York99

17Dupont Circle, Washington D.C.99

18Pioneer Square, Seattle99

19Clinton, New York99

20Upper East Side, New York99

21Morningside Heights, New York98

22City Center East, Philadelphia98

23West Village, New York98

24Loop, Chicago98

25Upper West Side, New York98

26Downtown, New York98

27Gramercy, New York98

28City Center West, Philadelphia98

29Downtown, San Francisco98

30Logan Circle, Washington D.C.98

31Old Town-Chinatown, Portland98

32North Beach, San Francisco98

33Downtown, Seattle97

34Lower East Side, New York97

35Downtown, Washington D.C.97

36North Sutton Area, New York97

37Near North Side, Chicago97

38Carnegie Hill, New York97

39Back Bay-Beacon Hill, Boston97

40Lodo, Denver97

41Cobble Hill, New York97

42Hamilton Heights, New York97

43U Street Corridor, Washington D.C.97

44Boerum Hill, New York97

45South End, Boston97

46First Hill, Seattle96

47Lower East Side, Milwaukee96

48Mission, San Francisco96

49Core, San Diego96

50Nob Hill, San Francisco96

51Central Park, New York96

52Pacific Heights, San Francisco96

53West End Historic District, Dallas96

54Downtown, Portland96

55Fenway-Kenmore, Boston96

56Golden Triangle, Denver96

57South Of Market, San Francisco96

58Foggy Bottom, Washington D.C.95

59Federal Hill, Baltimore95

60Washington Heights, New York95

61Belltown, Seattle95

62Mount Vernon Square, Washington D.C.95

63Harlem, New York95

64Roosevelt, Seattle95

65Yorkville, New York95

66Cortez Hill, San Diego95

67Western Addition, San Francisco95

68Central, Boston95

69Richmond Grove, Sacramento95

NeighborhoodScore

70Five Points, Atlanta95

71Country Club Plaza, Kansas City95

72Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco95

73Downtown, Cleveland95

74Lincoln Park, Chicago94

75Sunny Side, New York94

76Presidio Heights, San Francisco94

77Carroll Gardens, New York94

78Castro-Upper Market, San Francisco94

79Park Slope, New York94

80Northpoint, Milwaukee94

81Downtown, Sacramento94

82Murray Hill, Milwaukee94

83International District, Seattle94

84Russian Hill, San Francisco94

85South Lake Union, Seattle94

86University District, Seattle94

87Fordham, New York94

88Midtown, Sacramento94

89Downtown, San Antonio94

90Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego94

91Central Business District, Louisville93

92Juneau Town, Milwaukee93

93Lake View, Chicago93

94Adams Morgan, Washington D.C.93

95Marina, San Francisco93

96Capitol Hill, Denver93

97Lower Queen Anne, Seattle93

98Plaza Westport, Kansas City93

99Poncey-Highland, Atlanta93

100Northwest, Portland93

101Kalorama, Washington D.C.92

102Uptown, Chicago92

103Edgewater, Chicago92

104Fells Point, Baltimore92

105Mid City West, Los Angeles92

106Kilbourn Town, Milwaukee92

107Riverside Park, Milwaukee92

108Fort Green, New York92

109Boulevard Park, Sacramento92

110Bay Ridge, New York92

111Noe Valley, San Francisco92

112Riverfront, Philadelphia92

113Wharton-Hawthorne-Bella Vista, Philadelphia91

114Inner Harbor, Baltimore91

115Inner Richmond, San Francisco91

116Lloyd, Portland91

117Hanover Place, Kansas City91

118Cherry, Charlotte91

119Marquette, Milwaukee91

120Poplar-Ludlow-Yorktowne, Philadelphia91

121Pennsport-Whitman-Queen, Philadelphia90

122University Heights, New York90

123Near South Side, Chicago90

124Marina, San Diego90

125Yankee Hill, Milwaukee90

126Potrero Hill, San Francisco90

127Fairmount-Spring Garden, Philadelphia90

128East Harlem, New York90

129Rogers Park, Chicago90

130Friendship Heights, Washington D.C.90

131Georgetown, Washington D.C.90

132Downtown, Austin90

133Wallingford, Seattle90

134Hosford, Portland90

135Downtown, Los Angeles90

136Buckman, Portland90

137Cherry Creek, Denver90

138Inwood, New York90