35. That’s what Columbia 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.
Thinking of trading in the walking shoes for a pair of wheels? Columbia ranks the exact same for bicyclists with an overall score of 35.
Don’t let a bad grade get you down. Columbia is already taking steps towards becoming a more pedestrian + bicycle-friendly city with initiatives like the Walk Bike plan and the Bike Share Master Plan.
In the meantime, here are Cola’s top five most walkable + bikeable neighborhoods:
- University Hills | Walk score: 84 | Bike score: 48
- Martin Luther King | Walk score: 81 | Bike score: 50
- Shandon | Walk score: 75 | Bike score: 63
- Sherwood Forest | Walk score: 74 | Bike score: 53
- Historic Waverly | Walk score: 72 | Bike score: 50
