No, this is not some new pedometer fad. Yes, it is another semi-cool googlemaps mashup I have found, but I think it's interesting and worth sharing because:
- One of the things that Kate and I really like about living where we now do in Sunnyvale (as opposed to Foster City, rural Vermont, etc) is that there is a lot within walking distance that we can (and like to) do. This is nice when you have a dog and want to tie a trip to the store or the park in with your daily dog exercise.
- On a more global-level, I think changing where we live is one of the key ways that our country, in general, can mitigate against global warming in the next century. What I mean is that I think that more so than buying a Prius, installing fluorescent light bulbs, or shopping at Whole Foods, living in places that are close to where we work and play in our lives can do a great deal to reduce the environmental impact of a growing first-world population. (While cars and commuting is a big part of this, it is by no means the only factor, as suburban sprawl often puts larger houses and communities in outlying areas that are harder to support a population and much less efficient to run public services to, etc). Granted, the economics of these situations are often complicated and I am well aware of that from living in the Bay Area, where housing prices in desirable areas are usually high enough to eliminate them as options for most of the non-renting population.
Anyways, to find your "Walk Score," go to
www.walkscore.com and enter your address. It calculates a rating for how good your house's location is for pedestrian-related activities. Despite being "patent pending," I think it's a pretty simple algorithm that just takes the number of certain types of GoogleMaps-entered businesses, restaurants, POIs, etc. that are within a certain walkable range and scales it 0-100 against some arbitrary "optimal value," but however it's done it's kinda fun to see how you score. As you can see, our place gets a 55. What's your "Walk Score?"
5 comments:
No big surprise. Our walk score is the big polluting "0".
auntie
Woohoo-- 91! Finally, Washington Heights is good for something.
Who needs a subway? My apartment gets a 92. The heights fail again. Go Burlington.
Oh, heavens! We seniors are losers! We on the Cape scored zero too! Plus we drive into town to take our walk! Pathetic. Thank you for telling us, Tom. I want the next poll to be on hanging laundry on a line. I will score big on that one. Or check back with us in February and ask about the lowest setting on the thermostat. I'll will win that one too.
Mom
Hi Tom and Kate...haven't checked out our spot yet, but have a comment on the light bulbs. Evidently they contain mercury...and no one here knows how to dispose of them and that mercury. So they save energy but present other problems. Also, the first generation of Prius had a more friendly rear window than the new ones. For me the visibility was very hard...especially at night. I decided that I might save more gas, but I also might cause a serious accident. Gayle
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