That’s according to the website Walk Score, which rates cities and neighborhoods on their walkability. Its algorithm takes into account how far people have to walk to reach the nearest amenities — coffee shops, restaurants, grocery stores, theaters and the like. Heat maps give a visual depiction, with green being the most walkable and red being the least.
Dallas has a rating of 47, and in Walk Score’s rankings, that makes it “car dependent.” No real surprise there. The score makes it the 30th most walkable city in the United States. (Slate has a story on the five most and least walkable U.S. cities.)
Walk Score also breaks cities down into walkable neighborhoods. Downtown, Uptown and Oak Lawn areas top the list, but Lake Highlands isn’t far behind — No. 8 on the list with a score of 61, making it “somewhat walkable.” Of course, what Walk Score considers Lake Highlands, a section just east of Central Expressway, is both broader and narrower than what we consider our neighborhood boundaries. Most of Lake Highlands is lumped into a larger area defined by Walk Score as Northeast Dallas, the 16th most walkable neighborhood in the city with a score of 49, making it “car dependent.” Though there are a few brighter spots, as you can see on the map.
Walk Score’s disclaimer is that it doesn’t take into account factors such as street design, safety from crime and accidents, or topography. Slate also has an interesting story on the software engineers behind Walk Score, its embrace by Realtors and urban planners, and whether Americans actually care about walkability.