Asheville ranks as a “car dependent city” on Walk Score’s walkability meter

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Photo by @joybells1964

37. That’s what Asheville scored out of 100 on Walk Score’s walkability meter, making it a “car-dependentcity.

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: