Pittsburgh Neighborhood Walkability Scores (Dormont, Oliver: crime, how much, neighborhoods)

[airwave09]

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Neighborhoods on Walk Score

Really interesting read, especially the map with the color scale. It looks like there are no real surprises at the top... the Southside Flats is the most walkable neighborhood in Pittsburgh followed by downtown and then *insert trendy east end neighborhood here*.

Also, of the "neighborhoods" in the bottom 10 most consist of failed public housing projects, nearly abandoned and/or dominated with 50's suburban development.

Is it any surprise that you could probably overlay this map with one that shows both increasing population and property values and not be able to tell the difference? Hmmmm...


Edit: the dichotomy of the North and South sides is pretty fascinating, you have to be within a mile of either the Mon or Allegheny rivers in order to be in a walkable neighborhood.

[gg]

Cool map. I don't think anyone could argue against the South Side. It rocks and people never post from there because they have so much to do in that area.

[I_Like_Spam]

I don't see how Polish Hill gets a higher score than does Lawrenceville.

I guess topography doesn't weigh into these walkability scores. It may be close, but it isn't an easy walk from the strip up that mountain.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

It may be close, but it isn't an easy walk from the strip up that mountain.

Yes. It is. I walk it very regularly. Unless you're physically-challenged/disabled, overweight, or just downright lazy Polish Hill is very walkable to the Strip District and Downtown.

[PreservationPioneer]

I don't understand why Brookline's score is so low. That neighborhood has a nice business district and is also walkable to Dormont..... Yet it's ranked lower than Homewood.

Also, Upper Lawrenceville needs to be ranked higher up, and Elliott needs to be ranked much lower (what can you walk to in Elliott, besides the Overlook?).

Mt. Oliver is very walkable, too, yet it's ranked surprisingly low.

[gg]

I am not sure, but by "walkable", they may take into consideration if there is a grocery store there, so people can live carless. That being said, there may be a some nice walkable areas that rank lower because there is no grocery store to walk to.

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

I am not sure, but by "walkable", they may take into consideration if there is a grocery store there, so people can live carless. That being said, there may be a some nice walkable areas that rank lower because there is no grocery store to walk to.

Here's their description of their methodology:

Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking.
Walk Score uses a patent-pending system to measure the walkability of an address. The Walk Score algorithm awards points based on the distance to amenities in each category. Amenities within .25 miles receive maximum points and no points are awarded for amenities further than one mile.
Walk Score uses a variety of data sources including Google, Education.com, Open Street Map, and Localeze. Since nobody knows your neighborhood better than you do, you can add and remove places from Walk Score.
For a detailed description of the algorithm, please see our Walk Score Methodology white paper.

We'll be the first to admit that Walk Score is an approximation of walkability. There are a number of factors that contribute to walkability that are not part of our algorithm:

• Street design: Sidewalks and safe crossings are essential to walkability. Appropriate automobile speeds, trees, and other features also help.
• Safety from crime and crashes: How much crime is in the neighborhood? How many traffic accidents are there? Are streets well-lit?
• Pedestrian-friendly community design: Are there narrow streets with buildings close to the sidewalk and parking relegated to the back? Are destinations clustered together?
• Topography: Hills can make walking difficult, especially if you're carrying groceries.
• Weather: In some places it's just too hot or cold to walk regularly.

As MarlonBain said, "You should use the Web 3.0 app called going outside and investigating the world for yourself" before deciding whether a neighborhood is walkable! And if you can't go there in person, Walk Score includes Google Street View so you can evaluate walkability factors such as sidewalks that our algorithm doesn't yet include.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Lobick

Here's their description of their methodology:

Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking.

That being said, I was correct. Upper Lawrenceville isn't the best place to be, because groceries aren't close enough. Not sure why they feel downtown Pittsburgh is good? Were do people go for groceries? The Strip? That isn't very close if you live by the point.

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

That being said, I was correct. Upper Lawrenceville isn't the best place to be, because groceries aren't close enough. Not sure why they feel downtown Pittsburgh is good? Were do people go for groceries? The Strip? That isn't very close if you live by the point.

GEagle on the Northside is less than a mile away from PSP, FWIW. I know from previous posts that you don't feel this is a legitimate option, but it;s still there.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

This map looks a bit off. There's tons of roads I'm looking at are on a steep hill, have no bus stops, and would be impossible to get anywhere in the winter that are in yellow. Then again those things are not in the algorithm.