37. That’s what Asheville scored out of 100 on Walk Score’s walkability meter, making it a “car-dependent” city.
A walk score is a numeric ranking that represents the walkability of an address based on pedestrian-friendliness and access to businesses.
Points are given based on the distance between residential areas and businesses, including restaurants, retail, and entertainment. Businesses within five minutes (or about a quarter-mile) are given maximum points, with fewer points given to amenities located further away. Anything within a 30+ minute walk is given 0 points.
Pedestrian-friendliness is calculated by analyzing features of an area’s roads, including the population density, intersection density, and the length of blocks in the area.
A city’s walkability score is found by calculating the average walkability of many residential addresses in a city.
Don’t let a bad grade get you down. Asheville is already taking steps towards becoming more pedestrian-friendly with initiatives like the Watch for Me NC campaign and City Council’s recent decision to rezone 100+ acres of South Tunnel Rd. into a pedestrian-friendly zone.
In the meantime, here are Asheville’s top five most walkable + bikeable neighborhoods:
- Downtown Asheville | Walk score: 89
- Falconhurst | Walk score: 78
- West Asheville Estates | Walk score: 73
- Five Points | Walk score: 71
- Grace (North Asheville) | Walk score: 67
