What are the least walkable dense US cities? Most walkable not-so-dense cities? (college, live)
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What’s not walkable about Miami?….definitely has its self sufficient walkable neighborhoods.
I live in Brickell, 99% of my daily needs are all within a 1-12 minute walk, only put 4K miles/year on the car and walk 5 miles/day…..portions of Miami Beach (SoFi, Sunset Harbour, North Beach, Surfside, mid beach) walkable as are Coconut Grove, Midtown, Little Havana and Miracle Mile/Coral Gables…..there’s a HUGE difference between coastal and inland Miami—I have no desire to walk to or around Doral, Hialeah or Pembroke Pines.
It is the 4th most dense city. Is it less walkable than NYC, SF, CHI, Boston, Philly?….yes…..is it not walkable?—no.
There is. But not as walkable as it should be around the entirety of the city compared to the other equivalents of its ppsm.
But the last time I was there, was around 2018. Things have probably changed so much outside of Brickell.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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Edgewater is very dense but there is not much to walk to, for now. That should be changing within the next few years. Ditto for downtown as it infills near Worldcenter (besides retail, it has recently announced it will be adding a Publix supermarket next to the Brightline rail station whereas Chicago’s Maple & Ash will be opening 2 restaurants nearby. There’s not much to walk to north of the downtown area just across the bridge from Brickell but that should be rapidly changing. There is also major development along the Miami River. That being said, Brickell continues to fill in with office buildings, hotels, and restaurants as well as people; whereas there had been a 2.5 year property inventory as recently as last summer has now dwindled down to a few months supply and the street activity—which normally slows down this time of year—has been noticeably busy 7 nights a week on South Miami Avenue (type of foot traffic we experience during our peak winter months).
A recent study that looked at just downtown and Brickell named Miami the #1 “15 Minute City” in the USA; I had not posted prior since the study relied upon Walkscore and a couple of other factors that would likely get questioned on this forum.
I should add interconnectivity is also improving—besides various forms of rail and trolley (OK bus that looks like a trolley that connects Miami North to South and within a loop on the beach), a new commuter ferry service has started that connects walkable Brickell/Downtown with walkable South Beach and will extend to walkable Coconut Grove before the end of the year.
One of our benefits of dense but not quite as walkable/ less foot traffic is that we don’t have anywhere close to the level or presence of a homeless issue as some of the other dense cities in our walkable neighborhoods. (There are some in a blighted section of downtown and more under highway underpasses in less dense areas and in fewer #’s, but out of sight in most of our walkable areas = out of mind). Makes sense—less people to mooch off of equals fewer of them (a good thing).
The following article pulled data that lists the top 10 most densely populated large city metros (it also lists the least densely populated major cities):
NYC
SF
Boston
Miami
Chicago
Philly
DC
Long Beach
Seattle
LA
I'm assuming we're talking about larger cities here - at least 400K.
Miami, to me, is by far the least walkable dense city in America.
The most walkable not-so-dense city is Portland, Oregon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by masssachoicetts
Least Walkable Dense Cities:
Miami
Los Angeles
The Bronx
Lawrence MA
Most Walkable Not So Dense Cities:
New Haven CT
Portland OR
Savannah GA
New Brunswick NJ
Are these statments based on anecdotal experience and hearsay or are they based on measurable metrics? . The often commonly held belief and parroted assumption that the city of Miami is not walkable is several years past its shelf life as the city gets more dense and its larger urban nodes get closer together with amenity rich infill. People don't give it the credit it's due in regards to walkability as people are still also unaware that Miami has the 3rd largest skyline and is the 4th densest city in the US according to the latest census.
A recent study of "15 Minute cities" was cited by the Urbanist which says "According to the makers of the study, Miami earned its number one spot as a result of plans to create small, walkable urban centers throughout the city bearing fruit. The Miami Herald has called Miami “a city of interconnected villages,” and ambitious projects like the Underline, which is repurposing land under its Metrorail elevated transit lines into a ten-mile linear park and trail, are increasing safe walking and rolling options for residents. All of this sounds like a far cry from the city I remember walking and riding transit through when I last visited Miami about 14 years ago so it’s encouraging to learn of these improvements. Granted, the decision to exclude transit quality as a metric likely boosted Miami’s score; the city has been bleeding bus ridership over the past decade."
Through the past several years Miami's Walkscore has steadily risen to 78 and a 5th most walkable ranking .
While these results are surprising and may be viewed with incredulous skepticism, at least they are unpredjudiced and measurable. Miami is on a grid and the city is only 36 sq miles so it is very conceivable that it would score high in other studies that may use different criteria.
On a personal note, I have been living car free in the upper east side of the city of Miami since the start of the pandemic. I have had absolutely no problem getting around the city and even to other areas outside the city limits like Coral Gables, Kendall/Dadeland, and the beaches by combination of walking, public transport, and Uber/Lyft so I can rightfully attest to Miami's walkablity.
Are these statments based on anecdotal experience and hearsay or are they based on measurable metrics? . The often commonly held belief and parroted assumption that the city of Miami is not walkable is several years past its shelf life as the city gets more dense and its larger urban nodes get closer together with amenity rich infill. People don't give it the credit it's due in regards to walkability as people are still also unaware that Miami has the 3rd largest skyline and is the 4th densest city in the US according to the latest census.
A recent study of "15 Minute cities" was cited by the Urbanist which says "According to the makers of the study, Miami earned its number one spot as a result of plans to create small, walkable urban centers throughout the city bearing fruit. The Miami Herald has called Miami “a city of interconnected villages,” and ambitious projects like the Underline, which is repurposing land under its Metrorail elevated transit lines into a ten-mile linear park and trail, are increasing safe walking and rolling options for residents. All of this sounds like a far cry from the city I remember walking and riding transit through when I last visited Miami about 14 years ago so it’s encouraging to learn of these improvements. Granted, the decision to exclude transit quality as a metric likely boosted Miami’s score; the city has been bleeding bus ridership over the past decade."
Through the past several years Miami's Walkscore has steadily risen to 78 and a 5th most walkable ranking .
While these results are surprising and may be viewed with incredulous skepticism, at least they are unpredjudiced and measurable. Miami is on a grid and the city is only 36 sq miles so it is very conceivable that it would score high in other studies that may use different criteria.
On a personal note, I have been living car free in the upper east side of the city of Miami since the start of the pandemic. I have had absolutely no problem getting around the city and even to other areas outside the city limits like Coral Gables, Kendall/Dadeland, and the beaches by combination of walking, public transport, and Uber/Lyft so I can rightfully attest to Miami's walkablity.
Anecdotal, because this is literally an opinion thread. I don't find Miami as walkable as DC, Boston or Chicago (All cities with similar, very similar, ppsm) and thats what I used to judge it. Sure it has a few neighborhoods.. but only a few neighborhoods.
Last edited by masssachoicetts; 08-19-2021 at 03:19 PM..
I also don't think you can judge the overall walkability of a city based on one neighborhood.
I am sure you can pick an area in many cities and say I live in this area and do everything on foot.
I think what everyone who has listed Miami is saying is for its density, the city overall is not as human scale as you would think.
New orleans on paper is far less dense but feels a lot more human scale
I respectully disagree with you because I have found much of it is very human scale, at least as much as New Orleans outside of Downtown/French Quarter/Marigny.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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It is well established that outside of Brickell, Miami is not a major corporate or job center as other dense cities, so it is not too surprising those walking to work would be less though its overall commute is less than some of these cities (NYC, SF and Oakland) that are more walkable and have even more/better mass transit options according to this 2021 finding:
Note: I have focused on cities, not suburbs….those living in the several walkable neighborhoods of Miami do so more for lifestyle reasons (access to items besides work).
Quote:
Originally Posted by mhays25
In the 2018 ACS, just 4.7% of working residents of the city of Miami commuted on foot. It should be at least double that.
Last edited by elchevere; 08-20-2021 at 10:56 AM..
Houston has to be up there for this one.. It's quite dense in terms of population with a lot of multifamily housing. However it also tends to have frequently missing sidewalks, very wide and busy roads with crazy drivers, amenities spread out over a very large area, and public transit that is just okay. Not to mention that for a good chunk of the year the climate is brutal for walking outside.
My (admittedly biased and perhaps flawed) mental image of inner loop Houston is a lot of this type of development. Very dense housing but also clearly car oriented.
Regarding Miami, even though it's the 4th densest city, its small city limits makes it a bit easier to achieve that. I'd imagine there's a few other cities with lower average density that could fit 442k people into 36 contiguous square miles, including LA, Chicago, Philly, Seattle, and DC. This could explain why some are surprised that it's not as walkable as its density might suggest.
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