NYC is Good for Walkies

A Brookings Institution study reveals that New York is a great place for walking, with 21 out of 21 walkable urban places. But Washington D.C. is the most walkable on a per capita basis while New York is ranked 10th, because New York is measured as the NYC metro area, including NJ, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

The study's author, Christopher B. Leinberger, admits there are issues with the methodology, namely that walkable places are weighted the same in different areas, even though Midtown Manhattan is 30 times bigger than the DC area's Reston Center. We'd be curious to see how the study would work if only the cities, not including the metro areas, were measured. You can read more about the study here (PDF).

The walkable NYC places mentioned are: (Metropolitan area) Downtown/Wall Street, Midtown, Brooklyn/Atlantic Yards, and Jersey City; (Downtown adjacent) Morningside Heights, Lincoln Square (UWS), Museum Mile/UES, Madison Avenue/UES, SoHo, Chelsea, 34th Street, Union Square, Greenwich Village, Park Slope, Brooklyn Cultural District; and (suburban town center) White Plains, Stamford, Princeton, New Brunswick, Greenwich.

Leinberg also has a book called, The Option of Urbanism: Investing in a New American Dream, which explains that for many years U.S. government has focused on suburban development, driven by the auto and oil industries, which has "fostered the decline of community, contributed to urban decay, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and contributed to the rise in obesity and asthma." He believes that there's a movement towards "walkable urbanism," (as in people flocking towards areas with mass transit) saying, "How the American dream plays out on the ground is changing. Rather than building only 'Leave it to Beaver' neighborhoods, we are building walkable, Seinfeld-like places." Real life as Seinfeld? Sweet fancy Moses!

The list of other U.S. walkable cities below:

1. Washington
2. Boston
3. San Francisco
4. Denver
5. Portland
6. Seattle
7. Chicago
8. Miami
9. Pittsburgh
10. New York
11. San Diego
12. Los Angeles
13. Philadelphia
14. Atlanta
15. Baltimore
16. St. Louis
17. Minneapolis
18. Detroit
19. Columbus
20. Las Vegas
21. Houston
22. San Antonio
23. Kansas City
24. Orlando
25. Dallas
26. Phoenix
27. Sacramento
28. Cincinnati
29. Cleveland
30. Tampa

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on December 5, 2007 3:58 PM

Comments [rss]

TK

I second hellodarling!

Toby von Meistersinger

I think I figured out why the Brookings Institution said DC is the most walkable city. The answer is on their website - "The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC."

Steven

because New York is measured as the NYC metro area, including NJ, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

PA part of the Metro area?

This study should only focus on NYC, why bring it other areas?

green

As a former long-time resident of Denver, this study is bogus. Denver has one mile-long walkable stretch at the center of downtown (an otherwise gross mall, where few people actually live), but the rest of the city is suburbia-style hell for pedestrians. In a list of "walkable cities," there's no way Denver should rank above New York, Chicago, etc. It's a completely different world.

EricGewiz

Since Atlantic Yards isn't technically a neighborhood (it's a pile of dirt, and rail tracks!) I find thathard to believe. Do they mean Clinton hill and/or Fort Greene and/or Prospect Heights?

hellodarling

As a Texas native (Dallas), I can honestly say... are they fucking kidding me? Why are Dallas, Houston and San Antonio anywhere near this list?!

hellodarling

As a Texas native (Dallas), I can honestly say... are they fucking kidding me? Why are Dallas, Houston and San Antonio anywhere near this list?!

Toby von Meistersinger

The D.C. area is hardly walkable, mainly because in many places they don't even have side walks. Ever been to Montgomery County, Maryland? It is like some hellish vision of suburbia. These studies are all rubbish anyway.

drewo

has a book ... which explains that for many years U.S. government has focused on suburban development, driven by the auto and oil industries, which has "fostered the decline of community, contributed to urban decay, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and contributed to the rise in obesity and asthma."

Really? This is hardly news. He forgot the highway construction industry, who along with big oil and the auto makers, called the shots during the post WWII suburban building boom.

westernqueensland

I was walking past factories and Newtown Creek and I came across Zion. Earlier, on the way there I saw a
">sewer.

Toby von Meistersinger

The D.C. area is hardly walkable, mainly because in many places they don't even have side walks. Ever been to Montgomery County, Maryland? It is like some hellish vision of suburbia. These studies are all rubbish anyway.