> WALKING THE WALK

Does your home’s location walk the walk? As some communities attempt to shift away from a dependency on automobiles and embrace pedestrian mobility for improved esthetics, better health and ecological sustainability, online resources such as Walkonomics, RateMyStreet and Walk Score are helping to determine the “walkability” of our neighbourhoods.

On walkscore.com, users enter an address and the website uses an algorithm to calculate walkability (a score out of 100) based on the distance to various neighbourhood amenities such as schools, stores, restaurants and parks. Data sources include Google, Education.com, Open Street Map, as well as census numbers and information shared by the Walk Score user community. In addition to providing commute reports and property listings, the site also rates the bicycle- and transit-friendliness of any given address.

Walk Score now offers rankings for addresses, neighbourhoods and cities in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. — where it launched in 2007. Although the service has been criticized for not factoring in crime rates, the absence of sidewalks or the impact of weather, Walk Score remains a draw for realtors.

“If my clients aren’t already aware of it, I let them know,” says Claudio Cerrito, a sales representative at RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd. “People want to know how accessible and connected a neighbourhood is. So, at a glance, you can see how an address rates. And a high walkability score is a big draw for potential buyers.”