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Philly is the 5th most walkable U.S. city, report says

We’re down one spot from last year

A couple walking down a sidewalk in Old City.
Philly has become a more walkable city in the last year.
Courtesy of Shutterstock

Philly is the fifth most walkable city in the U.S., falling one spot from last year’s ranking via real estate website Redfin.

Miami surpassed Philly this year by just .2 points, earning fourth place instead.

But that doesn’t mean Philly has become any less more walkable since 2016. In fact, Redfin’s WalkScore for Philly increased from 78.3 last year to 79 in 2017. By definition, WalkScore is a measure of “walkability of a location based on its distance from amenities, density of population, block length and pedestrian friendliness.”

In the report, Redfin explained that the increased WalkScore can be explained by Philly’s burgeoning retail corridors.

“Some main retail arteries that run through hot residential areas are experiencing a huge renaissance,” said Philadelphia Redfin agent Jennifer Seal. “The likelihood that there’s a new grocery store, coffee shop or even spinning studio within blocks of many Philadelphia homes has greatly increased in recent years.”

Indeed, greater Center City, in particular, has experienced an increase in walkable new construction in recent years, and the Market East corridor was just named the most affordable retail corridor in the country. The East Market project is slated to bring 562 apartments, a grocery store, retail, and restaurants to the neighborhood.

Here’s the full ranking:

  1. New York
  2. San Francisco
  3. Boston
  4. Miami
  5. Philadelphia
  6. Chicago
  7. Washington, D.C.
  8. Seattle
  9. Oakland
  10. Long Beach