America’s Most Pedestrianized Cities
Image from ckaroli
There’s no denying it – by 2025, it is estimated that there will be over a billion cars on this big blue marble we all love so dearly. The cities on our planet have been designed explicitly for the automotive and oil industries for at least 60 years. This is awful, yet it makes it crystal clear how much work there is to be done in order to clean up our collective act. Perhaps though, instead of pointing the finger at the rest of the world, it might be more effective to take an introverted look at our own country.
A large part of may be taking alternate means of transportation, like a bike, or mass transit, or even–gasp!–walking. After covering the first two, let’s take a look at the third and praise the following cities for being the best to walk in.
5. Newark, New Jersey
Image from Payton Chung
I know what you’re thinking: Newark? Yes, Newark. The city that’s got a reputation for being New York’s odoriferous younger brother also happens to have a remarkable amount of its population living within walking distance of their place of business. In the 2000 census 8% of the population walked to work. They didn’t take public transit, ride bikes, or do “ride shares”, but actually walked to work–a mark of sustainable development absent in most modern cities.
4. San Francisco, California
Image from lunatech
The only thought that can cross my mind right now is this: imagine the calves on those people. Nine percent of the city by the bay commutes on foot, and with the hills that make their town famous, they may have a tougher trip than anybody… well… maybe not Himalayan Sherpas. Nevertheless, it’s good to know that a city that’s always on the progressive edge of legislation is taking a great deal of individual action, as well.
3. New York, New York
Image from Morrisey
It had to be on the list, didn’t it. Manhattan is the only place in the country where more than 50% of the population doesn’t own a car. Over ten percent of New Yorkers walk to work, which is remarkable, but the truly impressive number takes into account the 50% that take public transit. Over 60% of the city doesn’t use their car to get to work; a mark normally only approached in college and military communities.
2. Washington, DC
image from euthman
Ok, so maybe the high placement of the District on this list means that we can’t call it “cities that are sticking it to oil companies” anymore, but DC fosters a remarkable number of pedestrians–12% of the 527,000 residents never set foot in a car, bus, or train to get to work. That number is even more remarkable when you consider how heavily segregated Washington still is. This could be Green City in a matter of years if it tried.
1. Boston, Massachusetts
Image from Pear Biter
Boston residents have a great reason to walk to work: there is no other way to get there in the old city. As I mentioned, cities have been tailored for cars in the last 60 years, however Boston is far older than that, and as a result, it’s almost counterproductive to own a car. With 13% of the population walking to work, Boston lays claim to being America’s most pedestrian-friendly city.
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Comments
9 Responses to “America’s Most Pedestrianized Cities”
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Ann O. Nymus
Posted: May 3rd, 2008 at 8:47 pm1Reply to this comment.…and if you do drive in Boston, the parking meters are checked so regularly, it is amazing not to get a ticket when left half an hour unpaid!
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Anon
Posted: May 3rd, 2008 at 9:56 pm2Reply to this comment.Portland?
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Zeno
Posted: May 3rd, 2008 at 9:58 pm3Reply to this comment.You have your facts wrong. 75% of Manhattan residents do not own cars. 50% of all New Yorkers which includes the outer boroughs do not own cars.
I know hundreds of people in New York, I know maybe 2 who own cars. Everyone walks or takes the subway.
I lived in Boston. The T does not run 24 hours, and stores are not as conveniently located so I had resisted but eventually got a car. I’ve been living in New York for 11 years and it’s a far more pedestrian friendly city than Boston.
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Casey
Posted: May 4th, 2008 at 2:45 am4Reply to this comment.The T sucks compared to the NYC Subway system. It doesn’t run 24 hours (or even until the bars close), it’s much slower, and it really needs a complete overhaul. I don’t understand why the street cars on the green line stop at every block. They could axe half the stops and reduce the commute time by 25% or more.
An air train hooking up each of the major terminals (like No. Station and So. Station) to the airport would be nice to have as well. This would greatly reduce car traffic around Logan. Transferring 3 different times is a pain and very time consuming.
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JESIEGE
Posted: May 4th, 2008 at 5:29 am5Reply to this comment.What about Philadelphia?
The downtown has a huge residential population that walks to work. As a center city resident I can personally vouch that many many make their morning commute by foot. -
Charlotte
Posted: May 4th, 2008 at 7:15 am6Reply to this comment.Truly, Boston has a terrible public transport system. It is an embarrassment when compared to most major cities (NYC, Paris, London, Bangkok, etc.). You can live in Boston proper and not own a car, but most people living just outside the city boundaries (Cambridge, Somerville, Allston, Brookline) are forced to.
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Greg
Posted: May 4th, 2008 at 7:27 am7Reply to this comment.Zeno and Casey, the question here was about walking, not public transit. There was already a separate post about public transit and NY came in first in the US. But a larger percentage of Boston residents walk entirely to work than New York residents.
The NY subway system is clearly superior to Boston’s mostly because of its reach and hours. Though there are a few things that are better about Boston’s: cleanliness, price, transit-to-the-airport, and sophisticated website.
The reasons for Boston’s subway deficiencies are too complicated to go into entirely now, but one of the key reasons is the infrastructure is so old (first in the nation) and major overhauls are currently prohibitively expensive. There are serious budget issues that were exacerbated by years of Republican governors who didn’t care about public transit. The new Democratic governor, however, is far more committed, the MBTA is (very) slowly improving, and the Governor is preparing a long-term transportation vision for the state.
The reference to the Green Line that “stops at every block” is referring — I’m guessing — primarily to its ‘B’ branch. Some of those stops have thankfully been consolidated — further consolidation would underserve too many people. The first subway in the nation, the Green Line, as pointed out, are not rapid transit vehicles, but “trolley” or “light rail”, which puts technical limitations on its efficiency. Nevertheless, a larger Green Line fleet and nicer cars have improved the experience.
I actually much prefer the experience of getting to the airport in Boston than NY. Both the Blue Line and Silver Line take you to the Airport nowadays, without any extra train ride fair.
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Kayakman
Posted: May 4th, 2008 at 2:45 pm8Reply to this comment.What about Portland, OR?
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Teh
Posted: May 4th, 2008 at 6:47 pm9Reply to this comment.Yay! Go Boston, America’s great home town!
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