Columbus is 19th Most Walkable City in US

cnn.com wrote Metropolitan areas ranked for walkability

Tue December 4, 2007

Young professionals are driving a national trend toward more walkable communities, says the author of a report to be released Tuesday by the Brookings Institution.

The report ranks the Washington region first among the country’s major metropolitan areas in the number of “walkable places” per capita, thanks to changes in just the past 15 years.

Leinberger attributes Washington’s success with walkability to several factors, including a large population of 20- and 30-somethings and recent strong economic growth.

But the chief factor, he said, is the success of the Metro. The 31-year-old rail system has transformed the region, shaping development and making the walkable urban model more viable.

Leinberger calls rail transit a key factor in the success of walkable places. Roughly two-thirds of the 157 places he counted are served by rail, he said.

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Columbus ranked 19th in the current rankings of city walkability. 19th is pretty good considering it can be kind of scary walking around in downtown Columbus. I can’t believe LA is ranked so high (12). No one walks in LA.