Archive for April, 2008

There’s a compelling new book out that makes a strong case for walkable, urban neighborhoods actually being more affordable than their suburban counterparts. Growing Cooler argues that once commute time and transportation costs are taken into account, living in less dense areas can become more expensive than living in dense communities where a car isn’t as necessary to get around.

There’s a great article supporting Growing Cooler’s point, citing evidence that housing values in denser neighborhoods are holding steady or rising. This is in contrast to the steep drop-offs seen in suburban areas outside cities.

This Growing Cooler movement really challenges the old real estate saying, “Drive ’til you qualify”.

It’s hard to quantify the nuances that make a neighborhood walkable. Are the streets shaded with trees? Are the buildings designed to cater to foot traffic? Are there other people out walking?

We just added Google Street View to Walk Score so you can see for yourself whether a neighborhood looks walkable:

Try visiting the Painted Ladies in San Francisco, Fenway Park in Boston, or maybe Times Square in New York. Click the”Go to street level view” link above the Walk Score map to check it out.

Note: Google Street View is only available in the following areas. Hey Google, why no street view love for Seattle? Was it too rainy to photograph us? Is it because Microsoft is nearby? Seattleites unite for street view!

We believe one of the best ways to promote walkable neighborhoods is to include Walk Score on every real estate listing: 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,000 sq. feet, Walk Score 87. Kudos to www.postlets.com for promoting walkability with their superb implementation of the Walk Score tile:

Postlets also creates a nice search-optimized landing page and unique URL for every listing it hosts. Congratulations to Postlets for creating such a great integration!

Do you have a stylish Tile integration? We’d love to hear about it! Also, we’re getting a lot of requests for a Walk Score REST API so we’re considering adding this in the near future…