Get out and walk!

By Dan Estabrook - July 17, 2008 (TNN) Still planning summer travel and want to avoid paying high gas prices (who doesn't) once you get there?  Why don't you do the green thing and visit one of our Top 10 Most Walkable Cities? Since I live in the #1 city -- San Francisco -- I already know that walking from my home to the CalTrain Station to catch a bite along the Embarcadero is always easy.  Not to mention avoiding the heartbreak of parking in San Francisco.  Our city by the bay scored an 86 out of 100 for walkability. The article at MSN gives plenty of other reasons why visiting walking cities is always a good idea: Advocates plug walkable communities as a way to cut down on auto use and carbon emissions. Walkable communities are also being touted as a way to curb the national obesity epidemic: In one study, San Diego residents of traditional neighborhoods who had stores, services and other facilities a short walk from their homes were found to be 40% less likely to be overweight or obese than those who lived in neighborhoods of suburban sprawl. Now our health and environment are convincing points for me!  MSN's list of the Top 10 is below. I was surprised to see Los Angeles on the list since so many of us associate the city with driving.  However, I hear that the downtown areas and various other micro-neighborhoods (e.g. Westwood, Santa Monica, etc.) are quite condusive to hoofing it. The article mentions a site where you can obtain your city's walk score, or research a city to which you would like to move.  Walk Score claims to help you find the most walkable neighborhoods.  Try it out! The study found that Jacksonville, Florida came in "dead last" with a walkability score of only 36 out of 100. My home of five years, Santa Fe, New Mexico, only scored a 12 out of 100.  This low score does not surprise me given the small town and rural nature of this small Southwest city. Maybe it explains why I decided to move back to San Francisco! So, get out and walk and read the full article here.