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Walkscore is about the only organization that puts out lists I am more inclined to believe. They more or less hit spot on with their lists just as they did this one and are not too biased against anyplace. I even think they are quite right with their runners up Providence and Philly, both of which have become gentrified and slightly priced out of the normal list of affordable cities you often see.
The one organization lists which I really think are seriously biased against certain cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, etc are WalletHub's. Beware of that organization.
Before moving to Buffalo, I spent a ton of time researching Buffalo neighborhoods to gauge how doable it would be to live there comfortably without a car, which was my goal (I'd lived in several cities without cars prior to Buffalo) Based on what I found online, it really seemed doable if I were to live in Elmwood Village. Sure, there are a few other bubbles that are somewhat walkable like the Hertel Ave area or Allentown, but getting from Allentown to Wegman's walking is not my idea of a walkable situation.
After living in Buffalo for a few years, I can easily say that it is NOT a walkable city. If you are paying excessively high rents to be in Elmwood Village, then SOME things are walkable - a handful of restaurants/bars, the food co-op. Public transportation there is a joke - unless you just need to get from one end of Elmwood to the other, or from a very specific street (where there is a 'train' stop to downtown, as there is ONE train line with a handful of stops).
Walkscore doesn't take weather into account, which I think makes it very limiting in determining the true 'walkability' of a place (which includes being able to bike and take public transport, and is more about being 'carless' than walking everywhere, in my opinion). For example, waiting 20-45+ minutes in the FREEZING WINTER or in rain for a bus? Not my idea of something I'd do unless I were desperate. Plus, the bus system is crazy expensive - on par with NYC for much more limited service.
That list might also be called "The Resurrection of the Rust Belt". Buffalo, Rochester, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Pittesburgh are all "rust belt" metros that seem to be pulling themselves out of the mire after decades of being down and out.
Before moving to Buffalo, I spent a ton of time researching Buffalo neighborhoods to gauge how doable it would be to live there comfortably without a car, which was my goal (I'd lived in several cities without cars prior to Buffalo) Based on what I found online, it really seemed doable if I were to live in Elmwood Village. Sure, there are a few other bubbles that are somewhat walkable like the Hertel Ave area or Allentown, but getting from Allentown to Wegman's walking is not my idea of a walkable situation.
After living in Buffalo for a few years, I can easily say that it is NOT a walkable city. If you are paying excessively high rents to be in Elmwood Village, then SOME things are walkable - a handful of restaurants/bars, the food co-op. Public transportation there is a joke - unless you just need to get from one end of Elmwood to the other, or from a very specific street (where there is a 'train' stop to downtown, as there is ONE train line with a handful of stops).
Walkscore doesn't take weather into account, which I think makes it very limiting in determining the true 'walkability' of a place (which includes being able to bike and take public transport, and is more about being 'carless' than walking everywhere, in my opinion). For example, waiting 20-45+ minutes in the FREEZING WINTER or in rain for a bus? Not my idea of something I'd do unless I were desperate. Plus, the bus system is crazy expensive - on par with NYC for much more limited service.
I've tried to explain this -- and others have as well -- to some of the transit enthusiasts over in the Urban Planning thread, and they don't seem to accept that weather affects transit use. You can't ride a bike in half of foot of snow/slush on the side of the street. You can't safely walk real far when so many property owners don't clear their sidewalks of snow and ice.
The transit system in Buffalo really sucks. I lived in the city for about 20 years up until 1987, and it sucked then, too. If you lived near a bus line and worked downtown or on the way to downtown, you were okay as long as you worked between about 8 and 5. For everybody else, it was like "you can't there from here" in a reasonable time.
I've tried to explain this -- and others have as well -- to some of the transit enthusiasts over in the Urban Planning thread, and they don't seem to accept that weather affects transit use. You can't ride a bike in half of foot of snow/slush on the side of the street. You can't safely walk real far when so many property owners don't clear their sidewalks of snow and ice.
The transit system in Buffalo really sucks. I lived in the city for about 20 years up until 1987, and it sucked then, too. If you lived near a bus line and worked downtown or on the way to downtown, you were okay as long as you worked between about 8 and 5. For everybody else, it was like "you can't there from here" in a reasonable time.
I've had many friends that ride their bikes through snow and sleet. I am not that daring but I definitely prefer walking and riding transit during and after a major snowstorm. Boston got walloped by two big snowstorms the past week and a half dumping 40 inches of snow on the ground. Our ancient underfunded transit system, the MBTA, nearly ground to a halt the day after the second snowstorm because of mechanical issues and the fact that half of it's entire fleet of buses and transit vehicles were disabled. Of course there was much public outcry but I would walk and ride the system again and again in the snow. If I recall the last time I visited, Buffalo is nowhere as hilly as Boston and therefore should be more walkable even if the ground has two feet of snow.
I don't know enough about the NFTA's service to specifically comment on it but generally speaking, every transit system in the nation has at least some bus routes than run 18-20 hours a day with higher than average frequencies. Here in Boston, the MBTA calls them key bus routes and they serve city neighborhoods and some densely populated inner ring suburbs. No, not every community has these routes and it is not possible in every neighborhood to simply walk to the nearest grocery store. However, Walkscore ranks the cities based on to what extent is it possible to do something like this based on street connectivity, distance, and pedestrian amenities. Buffalo has some of these neighborhoods and MojitoMe has pretty much named them and so Buffalo is qualified to have a higher walking score than other cities. Weather should not be a factor because inclement weather doesn't happen all the time.
What city would you recommend to be on this list then? I can't think of any city that is purely walkable.
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