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The American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) surveyed 500 cities in the USA and used 14 criteria to determine which were the best and worst walking cities. Criteria were developed with six walking and pedestrian organizations and Prevention magazine. Heavily weighted criteria included the expert panel rating, walking commuters, green space and safe streets. Other criteria included crime, pedestrian fatalities, fitness walking percentage, schools, mass transit, cars per household, WalkScore of walkable destinations, air quality, Rails to Trails program, and cleanliness.
Cambridge has more walking commuters than any other city, probably due to it being a college town with Harvard and MIT. It also has the most parks per square mile, so it scores well on the top two criteria. With high scores for public transit and a low number of cars per household, it ranks well on the medium-weighted criteria. I haven't yet visited Cambridge, so I can't testify that it is truly walkable from a fitness-walker perspective. That's different from the viewpoint of a walking commuter. If you are just walking from the dorm to class, it's quite different from setting out on a 3-mile or 6-mile walk. Local walking club friends say it is flat, with a riverfront trail and nice views of Boston.
I agree that New York City is a fantastic place to walk. It has a perfect score in the WalkScore system, which rates interesting and useful destinations for walking. You can easily live in NYC and not own a car. In fact, the city scores the lowest in the nation for cars per household. I love walking in Central Park on each visit and exploring different neighborhoods. I circled Manhattan during the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, and I would love to do that again.
Ann Arbor scores highly due to its high percentage of walking commuters, which again is due to it being a college town. I see a trend here with this year's criteria. It also has the highest WalkScore for Michigan and was well-liked by the rating panel of experts. At least Ann Arbor is home to a walking club, the Washentaw Wanderers, who host regular walking events and a 10K year-round walking route.
Chicago was a favorite of the expert raters, tying it for number three with Ann Arbor. They liked the walkable destinations in the city, the high number of parks, and the public transportation. I've enjoyed my visits to Chicago, but I have only walked it between attending meetings and seminars. The local walking clubs have several year-round walks in Chicagoland, including one that features the Lakefront and the Miracle Mile.
Washington, D.C. is a wonderful walking destination. The criteria and experts rated it high for walking commuters and mass transit. From a fitness walker and walking tour perspective, you will love walking the monuments and along the many forested trails. I've walked it as a tourist, a walking conventioneer, a Breast Cancer 3-Day walker and US FreedomWalk Festival walker. I'm always looking for opportunities to return and walk there.
San Francisco ranked highly this year because in car-crazy California, it has the most walking commuters and use of public transportation. San Francisco boasts more parks and points of interest per square mile than almost any other city. Be prepared for some hill walking! One of my favorite walks is from Fisherman's Wharf, along the bay, over the Golden Gate Bridge, then taking the ferry back from Sausalito. With the changing criteria for the Best Walking City each year, it is one of the few that ranked as a top Fitness Walking City the previous year.
It's Hawaii's year for walking, the Honolulu waterfront walk also made the list for the Top 10 Walks in the USA. Honolulu ranks high for the number of people who walk for fitness, and they score highly for walkability because of its clusters of shops and destinations where people can walk for shopping and convenience -- factors that contribute to the WalkScore rating.
Here, I must strongly disagree with the experts. Trenton is the only state capital where the walking clubs of the AVA will not host a year-round self guided 10K walk because there is no 6-mile route they deem safe to be walked. At our walking convention in New Jersey, a guided walk was conducted on a Saturday morning, but many participants observed drug dealing, police arrests, and other activities that were not walker-friendly. But the experts like the wide sidewalks, the cluster of shops in the downtown, and the high percentage of walking commuters and fitness walkers. Your mileage may vary.
Boston is packed with history, parks, and walker destinations such as shops and eateries. It ranked highly for walking commuters and mass transit users, but it also scores well with fitness walkers. The year-round walks in Boston are often voted as Top Walks by AVA walkers.
I've walked in Cincinnati and I agree that it has a pleasant walking environment with wide sidewalks, which the experts loved. It ranks highly for walking commuters and fewer cars per household.
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