Detailing DC's Shift to Walkable Urbanism

Walkable urban places are poised to "put a foundation under the economy as well as government tax revenues," concludes Christopher Leinberger in a new report. Better! Cities & Towns delivers some highlights from his much anticipated study.

September 11, 2012, 12pm PDT | Jonathan Nettler | @nettsj

Last week, we previewed the results of a new study examining the emergence of Washington D.C. as a national model for walkable urbanism. Now published, the findings of the study are astounding.

"In the first regional, comprehensive study of mixed-use urban centers, Christopher Leinberger coins a clever term, WalkUPs (walkable, urban places)," writes Robert Steuteville. "Leinberger examines 43 WalkUPs in the Washington, DC, region, most of which have been created in the last two decades."

"Although they only occupy 1-2 percent of the DC land area, they account for 29 percent of the income-producing property and they generate tax revenues far out of proportion to the land they consume. Since 1990, WalkUPs have steadily gained a larger share of commercial development in the region, and Leinberger, research professor of urban real estate at the George Washington University School of Business, argues DC is a model for how the nation will develop in the coming decades."

Thanks to Rob Steuteville

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Study: Shift to walkable urban places is good news for economy

Published on Monday, September 10, 2012 in Better! Cities & Towns