Walkability Scores Don’t Tell the Whole Story

A new report concludes that common ‘walkability’ measures don’t account for many barriers faced by pedestrians, such as environmental factors and policing.

2 minute read

May 4, 2022, 11:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


walkable street

Dewita Soeharjono / Flickr

According to Kea Wilson, “if cities truly want to be pedestrian-friendly, they need to think beyond the sidewalk, particularly in neighborhoods of color that face the steepest barriers.” However, while walkability scoring tools attempt to quantify the accessibility of neighborhoods for pedestrians, they leave out important factors. “That’s mostly because walkability algorithms tend to grade neighborhoods highly when they offer a lot of destinations within ‘walking distance,‘ but don’t closely scrutinize things like pedestrian crash rates, how long it takes to cross the road, the presence or absence of sidewalks, or even whether or not people you know, actually walk in a given neighborhood right now.”

A new analysis from the Urban Institute used five criteria to get a more accurate picture of actual walkability in Washington, D.C.: access to “essential destinations,” environmental quality factors such as air pollution and shade, infrastructure, policing, and road safety. “The study focused on data that could be sourced from public sources in hopes that other cities could easily replicate their work, but the researchers were forced to leave out certain critical and under-studied walking barriers, like rates of gender-based street harassment, accessibility for people with disabilities, and flood patterns in communities with poor drainage.”

“Still, the researchers say that’s all the more reason for city leaders to expand the kinds of data they collect on mobility barriers among various groups — and to think just as broadly about how improving one metric, like the prevalence of ‘self-enforcing’ street designs, could possibly improve other metrics, like decreasing the number of police stops.”

Friday, April 29, 2022 in Streetsblog USA

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 14, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Front of Walmart store with sign.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network

The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

May 7, 2025 - Inc.

Regeneration of contaminated industrial land used for waste dumping, West Midlands, UK, 2006 .

EPA Awards $267 Million to Clean Up and Reuse Contaminated Sites

The EPA is investing the funds to clean up and redevelop contaminated sites nationwide, supporting economic growth, community revitalization, and environmental restoration.

May 18 - Environmental Protection

Archway made of bikes in Knoxville, Tennessee over Tennessee River.

Knoxville Dedicates $1M to New Greenway

The proposed greenway would run along North Broadway and connect to 125 miles of existing trails.

May 18 - WATE

25mph speed limit sign with digital "Your Speed" sign below it.

Philadelphia Launches ‘Speed Slots’ Traffic Calming Pilot

The project focuses on a 1.4-mile stretch of Lincoln Drive where cars frequently drive above the posted speed limit.

May 18 - WHYY