If it is important to have dining, shopping, and services for day-to-day living within walking distance of your home, use the “Walk Score” to help find the perfect Atlanta neighborhood for your next home purchase

One advantage of living within a major metropolitan area is having a bevy of amenities – great in volume and variety – within a short distance of your home and work place. Many home buyers, and particularly urbanites, have a deep appreciation for and seek a home that offers cultural amenities, parks, a cup of coffee, a quick bite to eat, a more upscale bite to eat, services like dry cleaning, convenience goods, and other shopping options within a short walk of their front door. 

 

Home buyers in Atlanta are no exception.  But, Atlanta is a big city with hundreds of neighborhoods.  Walk Score, www.walkscore.com, is a great tool for prospective home buyers that are:

• New to Atlanta;


• Less familiar with particular areas; or


• Seeking more ground level intelligence and like to research.

 

The Walk Score is a web based interface (www.walkscore.com) that allows you to plug in an address and receive an instant evaluation of how “walkable” the neighborhood is, or how conducive a neighborhood is to reducing or eliminating the need for a car (high score = very walkable).  The Walk Score uses the following criteria to assess a neighborhood:

• Does the neighborhood have a center, or a central gathering place it that helps make it a destination or define its character (e.g., a shopping district, a main street, civic space, or other public space such as a park)?


• Does the neighborhood have good access to regular public transit and several businesses within it?


• Are streets and building placement pedestrian-friendly, e.g., can employees walk to work without fear of getting run over a car?


• Are workplaces within a close enough distance to workers so that a commute on foot or public transit reasonable? 


• Are schools within close enough proximity that children can walk from home?


• Are streets well connected, have a deliberately-controlled moderate speed, and accommodating to everyone in the neighborhood, regardless of physical challenges and mode of transportation?

 

Although Atlanta does not rank that high relative to many of the largest cities in the US (#22 of the 40 largest cities), there are still some very walkable neighborhoods in Atlanta.

For instance, Poncey-Highland receives a 93 out of 100 score for the number of eclectic restaurants, boutiques, grocers, and park spaces within the neighborhood. Midtown Atlanta, a hub of employment, new residential condo buildings, swank restaurants and bars, received a score of 85 out of 100.  Click here for the complete list: http://www.walkscore.com/rankings/Atlanta.