The folks over at WalkScore recently published their list of the top 10 most walkable places in the US, and surprise Miamians – we made the list! Though this might come as a shock to most Miamians because of the city’s dismal walkability in real life, the Walk Score researchers use a computer algorithm to correlate population density to ‘neighborhood amenities’. Unfortunately, this metric has nothing to do with the factors that acually make a city walkable, such as street design, pedestrian safety, transit, etc.
Oh yeah...super walkable.
The self proclaimed goal of the score is to, “measure how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking,” but by that standard the current ranking for Miami is either a calculation error, or an indication that WalkScore is totally flawed. By placing the City of Miami within the ranks of Chicago, New York, and Washington, the score does urban planners and advocates a disservice by proclaiming something that does not connect with the facts on the ground.
This ranking came out a few weeks ago, and I thought not to comment on it simply because Walk Score has not yet been very useful for planners because it doesnt take into account the very things that do make a city walkabe. They have been trying to make the tool better over time, but the disconnect is still too great to make the score useful. I still hold out hope that some future version of WalkScore might combine a their current methodology with one that has people walking around the city. Most planners would agree that the idea is great, but when it comes down to simplifying the complexity of a city into an algorithm, something is lost in translation. In the same way that street design cannot be designed by someone using a Level of Service calculation intended for a car, a city can’t be described by a computer that can’t walk. Before now it didn’t seem to matter, but this morning I recieved a PR email from the Miami-Dade MPO proudly using the WalkScore as a some badge of honor, without realizing (or caring) how disconnected it is from reality.
Is this a joke? Does anyone at the MPO actually walk anywhere (aside from to/from the parking lot?)
In defense of WalkScore, they know the problems with the scoring system and are up front about them.
We’ll be the first to admit that Walk Score is an approximation of walkability. There are a number of factors that contribute to walkability that are not part of our algorithm:
- Street design: Sidewalks and safe crossings are essential to walkability. Appropriate automobile speeds, trees, and other features also help.
- Safety from crime and crashes: How much crime is in the neighborhood? How many traffic accidents are there? Are streets well-lit?
- Pedestrian-friendly community design: Are there narrow streets with buildings close to the sidewalk and parking relegated to the back? Are destinations clustered together?
- Topography: Hills can make walking difficult, especially if you’re carrying groceries.
- Weather: In some places it’s just too hot or cold to walk regularly.
What I have a problem with is that even if they are not going to factor in these important elements, they should have someone go out and field verify conditions so that the score does not so obviously conflict with the city that people inhabit. The computer doesn’t know how easy it is to get to an amenity, only that it’s close by. Design matters much more than proximity, and the only way to factor that in is human experience. That should also be taken together with other research materials, like Transportation for America’s recent “Dangerous by Design” report that listed Miami as one of the top 4 most dangerous places in America for pedestrians (didn’t see that in the MPO newsletter – I wonder why?) Different from the WalkScore, “Dangerous By Design” uses actual field data – crash maps and statistics, that show without a doubt how safe a city is for pedestrians.
Shame on you WalkScore for making it more difficult for me and others to fight for a more walkable city. Our municipal and transportation planners are already using this score as an affirmation that they are doing something right even thought they are not. The successes we have had in advancing walkability (limited though they are) are a result of being able to compare our city with others that are walkable. Epic fail WalkScore. Epic Fail.
13 Responses to Walkscore Loses Credibility by Placing Miami in Top 10
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something that is measurable and can be entered into a computer fairly easily is the distance between doors. It would take someone sitting with Google Earth open and drawing a bunch of lines, but it would be a pretty good indicator of the amount of sprawl in an area. A number generated through these means with population density would be a pretty decent indicator of how really walking-oriented a city is.
Maybe they got confused with Miami Beach…
What this highlights is Miami’s high density and proximity of so many services. Planners absolutely should understand the limitations of Walkscore. We can learn something from this, though. Miami is the 8th largest metropolitan area in the US, so it’s no surprise that the city is the 8th most dense area. We should be pointing to the high walkscore to argue for better walkability planning and an end to car centric planning, not using it as an indicator of success.
good point JM
As JM says, Miami has very high residential/commercial density and a very tight city boundary that does not encompass suburban areas.
So when you compare Miami to other cities in the US that are low density and the borders contain sprawl, it comes out near the top.
You can use Walk Score to argue that Miami has the potential to be a world-class walkable city — and that should motivate rather than discourage pedestrian advocates in Miami.
Also, check out the new Street Smart Walk Score that is factoring in things like block length / intersection density:
http://blog.walkscore.com/2011/01/preview-street-smart-walk-score/
I agree with all your points Tony.
The sad thing here is that there just aren’t 10 truly walkable large cities (>250,000 people)in the U.S. Therefore, a city like Miami makes the list practically by default since it is one of the denser cities in the country and is far better for walking than places like Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville, etc.
As far as Walk Score goes (at least for big cities) it really comes down to NYC, SF, Philly, Chicago, Boston, D.C., and Baltimore, then it’s really a “best of the worst” comparison.
Oh yeah, and this should definitely NOT be used as a badge of honor for!
Another limitation of Walk Score is that mini markets and convenience stores, and occasionally restaurant suppliers, are treated as “groceries,” equal to a Publix or Walgreens! Many amenities that are deep inside strip malls are treated as if they’re right off the street. Also, transit service score does not account for frequency or reliability of service. I view Walk Score as a measure of potential for walkability, not actual walkability. But even in this respect, it has some major flaws.
JM and Ryan are right concerning this measure of density and about what the Walk Score doesn’t say. Our MPO is the real culprit.
Wow. This says alot about Miami using the walkScore Creds. How fake can Miami get? Like Tony said computers cannot walk, and if they could I’m sure they would have no desire to walk in Miami. But in Miami Beach, yes I would gladly stroll a mile or four!
The good news out of all this at least is that even if we know Walkscore and the MPO are wrong, we all know Miami is getting more walkable, dense and urban with every passing month. There is progress in our city, it’s just not always in the right direction. One day however, we will be able to be in the Top 10 and confidently say, “yep, we belong there!”
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox
and now each time a comment is added I get three emails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove me from that service?
Bless you!
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