Educated People Are More Likely to Cluster in Walkable Cities? (neighborhood, calculated)
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[LEFT]As before (http://www.creativeclass.com/article_library/media/320_-_suburban_renewal.pdf - broken link), we found significant associations. Walkable metros had higher levels of highly educated people (.44) and of the creative class (.46). Perhaps more significantly, they also had higher incomes (.64) and higher housing values (.55), more high-tech companies (.58), and greater levels of innovation (.4).[/LEFT]
[LEFT]Walkability is more than an attractive amenity--it's a magnet for attracting and retaining the highly innovative businesses and highly skilled people that drive economic growth, raising housing values and generating higher incomes.[/LEFT]
Philadelphia is waaaay to high on that list. I am a life-long pedestrian, and although Philadelphia is a very walkable city, the city government is EXTREMELY anti-pedestrian.
eh.... I understand the premise, but you have to be careful with aspects of the conceptual model of the study.
Most higher educated/higher paying jobs are in cities... not rural areas. That alone would be a driver to attract people with higher educations and incomes toward urban areas, which are more likely to be walkable.
The other problem is if you only look at cities themselves... you have to consider the era the city was made in, which has an impact on it's economy (which impacts local residents pay) and the physical design of the city itself. There is a strong potential for age bias in the measurement. The oldest cities by design are more likely to have more walkable spaces, but are also more likely to contain older more power companies/financial services. Newer cities are less likely to be walkable, but are attracting companies that need a lower cost place to set up.
Walkscore is very inaccurate. They have my neighborhood all messed up; one park doesn't even make it into their database, etc.
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