Green Daily

I have lived in Miami for 12 years, and I can tell you, it is the most pedestrian UN-friendly city I have ever lived in. Consider, for example, US-1 (a major street connecting downtown Miami to everything South of 8th St), there is a 6 mile stretch of road with NO crosswalks... not one. There are many other examples.

Another huge problem with Miami is that the public transportation metro system only has one single line. That's right, just one. It goes North-South, then bends to head West. It does not connect with Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, Kendall, or any major neighborhood West of US-1 (the metro follows US-1 for most of the way). This means that just about any trip using public transportation involves three legs: bus, metro, bus at the very least.

Whoever put Miami on this list obviously hasn't ever actually lived here.

Reply

I live in Miami too and unless you have a car you cant get anywhere unless you can afford to live in South Beach. I live in sweet water and travel 30 minutes by car to north Miami to go to my favorite restaurants, sometimes the art district or South Beach at about 20 minutes away.

Reply

I would give honorable mention to Vancouver... which should be #1 but its a Canadian city. Because they certainly dont have freeways.

Reply

Seattle has a pretty decent bus system and they are adding a light-rail system. Hopefully in the next 20 years, Seattle's commuters will get around without oil

Reply

Vancouver

Reply

Well, if you're looking at cities outside the US , check out Singapore. In addition to having a great public transport system, it's great to have a walking lifestyle.

Reply

I think you'll find the top walking cities are all outside America.

Amsterdamn
Prague
Tallinn
Brighton UK
Edinburgh
Wellington NZ

to name a few.

Singapore is pretty, but it's kindof hot to be walking around for any period.

The internet is international by the way. It's quite weird the amount of material that seems to carry this tacit assumption that Americans are the only people that matter.

Reply

I also lived in Miami for a number of years. Unfortunately, the only walkable areas are on the Beach, and in the Grove --- and that's only if you don't cross US1.

I didn't understand "walkable" until I moved to Portland a few months ago. My car has sat in my drive for weeks because I just don't need it. It's lovely.

Reply

We are living in Miami since 2003 and we have to agree with the comments about this city. Coming from a country (Argentina) were most of the cities had been "naturally" evolving for more than 100 years, therefore adapting from pedestrians/horses to cars and buses, Miami seems to us an urban experiment. For an example, go to Pinecrest where the no-sidewalks design there keeps unwelcomed visitors out of the area to keep it peaceful and safe.

Also, the metro is a sad joke; and don't try the free metromover in the evening.

We can not believe that New York is below Miami, you HAVE to walk in NY!

Washington DC should have included the entire metro area, I once rolled blade from Bethesda to the Reagan Airport without interruptions and take the metro to go back home. That's a long distance and I didn't need a car.

Reply

While the Internet is international, the experiences of any particular writer or the base of any particular bit of research or not. It's absurd to expect every article to cover the world, particularly when its target audience is in one geographic location.

Knowing the most "walkable" places worldwide doesn't help you if you live in the U.S. and are considering a move to another city in your home country. If you think other countries need more coverage on the Internet, by all means, offer your own posts or start your own site to focus on other areas.

Reply

To Shari: The title is misleading. If I make a post that says "the top 10 greatest places to sit" and include only places in my flat, would you take it seriously? The Internet is where this blog is posted.

Reply

Barcelona? Not only is it pretty flat and very compact, the mixed zoning means you never walk through areas that are completely residential or completely commercial -- most American cities (other than Manhattan, I guess).

As for San Francisco, I don't know how it made the list. The interesting places to walk are all separated by purely residential zones where there's nothing to see or do (no cafes or restaurants) and steep hills. Try walking from Noe Valley to North Beach sometime. Fergettaboutit!

Reply

DC may be walking friendly, but go a half hr out in any direction and everyone depends on their cars for everything. People look at me like I am crazy when I walk to the store- even though it's less than a half mile (prob less than a quarter mile) no one walks anywhere. Drives me nuts.

Reply

I wasn't expecting to see Miami in the top ten cities, never been there but I don't think is more "walkable" than NYC.

http://www.webyaa.com/category/travel

Reply

I have lived in Chicago, spent some time in NYC, and now live in Portland, Oregon. Are you sensing a trend?

I concur that all three cities are great for those of us who prefer to walk or rely on public transit. Portland is my favourite of the three, as it is not only pedestrian ULTRA-friendly (cars will stop for you, even if you are jaywalking), but it is also pretty.

Reply

I'm going to share this with my clients. I am psychotherapist in NYC that conducts my sessions outdoors...mostly in Central Park. I'm the only therapist in the city that takes advantage of our great outdoor spaces and my clients love it. "moving the body opens the mind!" www.walkandtalk.com

Reply