The newest rankings of the most walkable cities in the United States, courtesy of Walk Score, contains a few surprises along with its standard annual recognition of New York City.
"In an announcement that will surprise no one, Walk Score, the company that produces the go-to metric for walkable cities, has once again ranked New York as the number one most walkable large U.S. city," reports Richard Florida. He also notes that New York extended its lead over San Francisco for the top spot.
But there is also reason for optimism that cities can achieve improvements in the their Walk Score and, thus, their rankings among the leaders in the country. "Miami has jumped three spots, for instance, from the eighth most walkable large U.S. city in 2011 to fifth place today." Florida goes on to explain some of the reasons Miami has improved its walkability.
Florida notes also that Detroit has also achieved substantial improvements in walkability, especially around Downtown.
"Miami and Detroit exhibit very different approaches to walkability. Detroit’s transformation has been more business-driven and centrally led, while Miami’s has been more organic and neighborhood-based," writes Florida. "But they both show that walkability can grow in places where it previously did not exist."
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