A new report by Christopher Leinberger and Michael Rodriguez at The George Washington University School of Business found that as the walkability of a neighborhood increases, so to does the wealth and education of its residents.
As CityLab reports, these results were discovered by ranking walkability for America’s 30 largest metros using data on 619 walkable urban neighborhoods (which is based on their high walk scores and concentrations of office and retail space) and examining the connection between metro walkability and economic development, educational attainment, and social equity.
New York had the highest number of walkable urban places at 67 and was followed by Washington, D.C. (44), Boston (54), and Chicago (38). Among these very walkable metros, the report showed a strong correlation between the walkability of a neighborhood and its affluence. Additionally, walkable metros were also more highly educated, and the correlation between a walkable metro and its share of college graduates over the age of 25 was even stronger than that of walkability and affluence.
For the full analysis and for accompanying graphs and charts, click the link below.
