Dive Brief:
- Redfin's list of cities with the most walkable new home construction found that Philadelphia scored the highest, with 91% of new homes scoring higher than the city's walkability score of 78.
- Redfin said it had already designated most of the cities on the list as walkable, but the addition of mixed-use developments to those areas, as well as construction and renovation in walkable areas, had boosted several of the scores.
- New construction with significant sprawl, however, is the hallmark of the cities with the lowest walkability scores, as the required space puts those homeowners farther away from services and amenities, Redfin noted.
Dive Insight:
The new home construction on Redfin's list scored higher than the corresponding metros' City Walk Scores, which are numbers between 0 and 100 that measure walkability — taking into consideration characteristics like how many errands can be completed without a car.
Redfin's full list of 10 cities with the most walkable new construction list includes:
- Philadelphia (91% of homes with higher score than city; City Walk Score of 78)
- Chicago (89%; 78)
- Cleveland (88%; 59)
- St. Petersburg, FL (88%; 42)
- Boston (85%; 81)
- Seattle (81%; 73)
- Washington (75%; 77)
- Denver (73%; 60)
- San Francisco (73%; 86)
- Dallas (62%; 45)
Greensboro, NC(2%; 29); Corpus Christi, TX (2%; 39); Albuquerque, NM (3%; 42); Plano, TX (3%; 39) and Bakersfield, CA (3%; 36) scored the lowest in new construction walkability.
Walkability is one of the reasons the popularity of mixed-use developments has taken hold in the U.S. More sports facilities, office campuses and residential developments are playing to the cross-generational desire for an urban, community feel. In fact, the National Association of Home Builders reported in February that townhouse construction was up 18% year over year in 2015, partly due to the concept's inherent walkable features.
In addition, in late 2015, an American Institute of Architects Home Design Trend Survey found that walkability, along with features like proximity to public transportation and mixed-use facilities, was among the most popular homeowner preferences.
