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Is there a way to approximate how vibrant the street life is per square mile?
Not personal opinions, but rather hard metrics, like GPS walking data, or restaurants per square mile etc?
This way we could objectively asses how much more vibrant is one area compared to another.
I have used Starbucks per square mile since they are ubiquitous throughout USA.
As well as Google maps high-end restaurants per sqm. However I do not think these are the best metrics.
Please share any ideas or resources you might have.
Thanks
Collecting data on all overnight tourists to a given city is another metric.
As overnight tourists tend to add a lot of vibrancy to a city Ex. Las Vegas
Is there a way to approximate how vibrant the street life is per square mile?
Not personal opinions, but rather hard metrics, like GPS walking data, or restaurants per square mile etc?
This way we could objectively asses how much more vibrant is one area compared to another.
I have used Starbucks per square mile since they are ubiquitous throughout USA.
As well as Google maps high-end restaurants per sqm. However I do not think these are the best metrics.
Please share any ideas or resources you might have.
Thanks
Many/most Starbucks are drive-thru or are contained in a larger store like Target. There is a famous corner in Houston with 3 Starbucks across from each other, 1 in a large bookstore and the other two drive-thrus. "Vibrant" as there is a lot of traffic and parking lots.
Many vibrant streets are also not in wealthier neighborhoods.
I would start by using Walkscore to find the highest neighborhood scores per city, and do a detailed view to find the streets with the highest walk score. Self check with a street view, ensure that the area isn't totally car-centric, and that it appears to be a walkable vibrant area. Remember that vibrancy is not usually 24/7, so street view may not always show busy streets, but you can verify building density, street width, concentration of businesses/attractions, public transit access, sidewalk walkable entrances, etc.
Many vibrant areas may have lower walkscores, like parks, entertainment districts, etc. So look for bar, restaurant, and event space concentrations, not just Starbucks. If there is an overlap between these areas and high walkscore areas, thats also a likely indication of vibrancy.
Pedestrian / foot traffic sensors at busy intersections.
Philadelphia has several in Center City, which is considered the most bustling part of the city. A good way to track foot traffic returning to pre-pandemic levels.
Walkscore basically does this for you. It's algorithm uses # of restuarants, bars, grocery stores, dry cleaners, etc. within X distance of a specific location. The more of these amenities within a certain distance, the higher the score.
Walkscore is about the presence of certain business types. It says nothing about walkability or how many people walk. A strip mall on a stroad can outscore an urban district.
Some cities count pedestrians in key spots, but I think it has to be a guy with a hand counter on each side of the street...sensor tech might be too dodgy for the sidewalk, for example only counting a group as one, and counting a person doubling back 2-3 times. (Bike counters should be easier because they're usually single file.)
Census Dept. ACS commute stats are useful. They have walking commute stats down to the census tract level (for residents of the tract, not the people who work there).
The hardest part is the time people spend on the street...sitting outside a cafe or at a park, standing there looking at their phone, whatever.
Walkscore is about the presence of certain business types. It says nothing about walkability or how many people walk. A strip mall on a stroad can outscore an urban district.
Some cities count pedestrians in key spots, but I think it has to be a guy with a hand counter on each side of the street...sensor tech might be too dodgy for the sidewalk, for example only counting a group as one, and counting a person doubling back 2-3 times. (Bike counters should be easier because they're usually single file.)
Census Dept. ACS commute stats are useful. They have walking commute stats down to the census tract level (for residents of the tract, not the people who work there).
The hardest part is the time people spend on the street...sitting outside a cafe or at a park, standing there looking at their phone, whatever.
Yes, that's a fair point and Walkscore is certainly imperfect. But if the OP is looking for something that approximates actual data for things like restaurants per square mile, I can't think of anything better that is universally rolled out in the way that Walkscore is.
It's can't obviously quantify the quality of the walking, i.e. is an area built on a human scale or an automobile scale, but I would say more often than not it's pretty darn good. A strip mall would be penalized because parking lots are built for automobiles and thus create some distance between road and business. This would find it's way to sneak into the algorithm. But I have no doubt that you are correct that some strip malls incorrectly score higher than urban areas with lesser businesses (such as a financial district or something).
But nonetheless, I've found it to be a generally useful tool and, at least in my last 4 "home" locations, has reasonably accurately sorted between places that are walkable and places that aren't.
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