Some cities are made for walking and some just aren't. Is yours? 
The American Podiatric Medical Association has compiled the newest list of the best and worst walking cities and I was thrilled to see good ole' San Francisco hitting the best list at number six — w00t, w00t! The cities were judged based on criteria such as the percentage of adults who walk to work, number of parks per square mile, use of mass transit, and percentage of adults who walk for fitness. Where does your city fit in?
10 Best U.S. Walking Cities of 2008:
- Cambridge, MA
- New York, NY
- Ann Arbor, MI
- Chicago, IL
- Washington, DC
- San Francisco, CA
- Honolulu, HI
- Trenton, NJ
- Boston, MA
- Cincinnati, OH
To see the worst then read more.
10 Worst U.S. Walking Cities of 2008:
- Oklahoma City, OK
- North Las Vegas, NV
- Gadsden, AL
- Davenport, IA
- Mount Pleasant, SC
- Enid, OK
- Laredo, TX
- Springdale, AR
- Clarksville, TN
- Lafayette, LA
Guerlain
Catherine Malandrino
Kova And T
I wouldn't reccomend a walk through trenton
1I thought LA would be on the worst list for sure!
2I'm a Massachusetts native, and I completely agree that Cambridge/Boston is a great walking city.
3I definitely agree with Boston/Cambridge...i lived there for years and walked absolutely everywhere!
4Aw, I miss Ann Arbor. I lived there for 10 years and agree it's a great place to walk.
5I love walking and hiking in my area (palm springs are). So many hills to hike but the cities are mostly flat, which is good too! A lot of the people that live here are elderly, so not many people walk places, most people use their golf carts. the grocery stores and such have golf cart parking. I secretly want one haha
6Wow, go Oklahoma for having not one, but TWO cities on the worst list. That is just sad. Luckily, I live in Tulsa, OK and we really do have much better trails, parks, etc. thank goodness!
7Lordy! How much do I love that the only Texas city on the list -- the #7 worst city -- is my hometown? Laredo proud!
8i love love love going for big long walks through cambridge and boston.
9I lived in Cambridge for 3 years. Yes, it's walkable but it's also freakishly cold. I walked everywhere, but I was not happy about it!
10soooo... who's the guy in the pic?? kinda unrelated...
11why would you walk through trenton. i would never!
12Yay Cambridge!!!
13Wow, I am so surprised to see Mt Pleasant there! I lived in Charleston, SC, which is just on the other side of the river, and I always thought Mt Pleasant was the place to be.
14Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay MA is on there 2x!!
Cambridge/Boston is totally walkable.
15OKC is the largest city in the country, so it makes sense that fewer people are walking to work. The city is very spread out, so unless one lives right next to their workplace, they are going to have to use a vehicle. The parks per square mile makes sense also, seeing as how most of the city is empty space. Unfortunately, it's also the fattest city, so it makes sense that as many people aren't walking for fitness either. We do have some lovely places to walk, though.
16I'm with binkob... I live in Charleston now and there are soooo many places to walk. And lots of people who do. Hundreds of people walk and run the Ravenel Bridge everyday... which is what connects Charleston to Mt. Pleasant.
17whoo ann arbor.
18I also agree with esk4. Trenton isn't exactly safe to just walk around.
19I agree with the two posters who said Mt. Pleasant shouldn't be on the worst list. Me and my fiance went there last spring because we are interested in moving there in the near future. All we did was walk and one of the things I loved about it was that there were so many places to walk, including all over Charleston. The bridge even has a walking lane to get for Mt. Pl to Charleston. Everywhere we went we saw lots of people walking, running and biking.
20I was very suprised to see it on the list, I just told my fiance and he is very suprised too.
i love living in new york. i never understand the people who take cabs everywhere... it's such a pleasure to be able to get everywhere on foot, without hassle (plus, cabs are big $$).
21i dislike ann arbor on principle
but it is a great city to walk around. i'm kind of
surprised detroit's not on the "worst" list. nobody walks here.
22yup, i didn't expect to see LA there haha.
I take the train and walk to work and back (I'm a new yorker, so I'm used to it!) here in Los Angeles, and I probably get nearly hit daily by a dumb debutante driving some gigantic SUV, or some douche bag in his cellphone speeding around corners and rolling through stop signs.
No one walks here... except for a few good neighborhoods.
23I'm wondering why san antonio tx isnt on the list. it sucks to walk here, except for dowtown *home of the alamo* you cant even walk to starbucks ,...
24Go Chicago!!!!! #4.
25Went to school in NYC, and clearly it needs to be on the list for mass transit use alone. now i work in Washington DC. Glad to be staying on the best list...
26Yay Chicago! But excuse me, since when is Ann Arbor a city?
27Defintely Boston, but where is London on the list?? People walk everywhere here, even if not really for fitness. There is a decent amount of parks too! Aw, shucks.
28I absolutely LOVE walking in NYC. Thats one of the things I love in NYC, during the Spring and Summer I walk everywhere! Its fun with friends, the sights are great and you can window shop all at the same time. My fiance is from WI and he loves walking in NYC.
I just can wait for the nice weather to roll in.
29berichard - London, UK? Or are you talking about a different London? It's just US cities...
30I definitely agree with Boston/Cambridge and Washington DC. I loved that I could do everything I needed to do just by walking. My current town in SoFla would definitely be near the bottom of this list.
31Ann Arbor! My hometown!
32I walk everywhere that I can and Chicago is definitely a good walking city (be careful, drivers are brutal).
33I would definitely agree with Oklahoma City, yeesh. You have to drive to a park to be able to walk and you really don't want to go to any of those parks at night.
34Whoever listed Trenton has probably been reading too many Stephanie Plum books. It's a walking city in principle, but definitely not in practice.
35i think y'all are fat in them southern states? =P
36yaaaay for boston/cambrige :)i could only live in cities like d.c. and nyc that are also walkable
37ElectroPopTart! Not me!
I am a transplant though.
38Cambridge and Boston! Yay!
39YEAH! Cambridge at no.1 and Boston at no.9!!! WOOHOO! Love that dirty water! Love me some Red Sox!
40I'm shocked that Atlanta wasn't on the "worst list," simply because there is NOTHING about the city that is great for walking. Our public transportation is horrible, and the city was never planned out to be on a proper "grid" to utilize walking around areas for work. And every time a proposal is made for more mass transit, it gets shot down in a heartbeat.
41YAY! CHicago is #4! I always walk EVERYWHERE when i am there so it makes sense
42Cambridge and Boston are on the list!!...Yay!!!
I couldn't agree more. I've been living here for 3 years. Loving it!!
43hmm, im surprised nyc wasnt 1st.
44three of my fav walking citys, nyc, chicago, san francisco definitely make the list..but i would have expected nyc to be #1 because i have walked those streets for hours on end..
45Oklahoma City, OK - Way to represent!!! That is one of the reasons I hate living here!!!! I used to live in Alexandria, VA and there were so many places to walk/run and here there aren't very many. There are absolutely no sidewalks and hardly any little parks to go walking in. It is terrible. So i totally agree with the rankings here. It sucks!
46NYC is a great city for walking! One day we walked 62 blocks with my friend on a good weather...Incredibly fun..
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