I just learned about this great website called Walk Score. You type in an address, and it gives it a score of 0-100 based on how many amenities are within easy walking distance. My apartment scores 91- walker's paradise. The Lower West Side averages 85. The Loop is the highest scoring neighborhood in Chicago with 98, followed by the Near North Side with 97. Check out all the Chicago neighborhoods.
I love Walk Score because it draws attention to the need for our communities to be pedestrian friendly. This is important for reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, staying healthy, and getting to know our neighbors.
There are plenty of things Walk Score doesn't currently take into consideration, such as bodies of water, and it calculates distances as the crow flies, but this is a great tool for exploring cities and neighborhoods where you might want to live. Check it out!
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I tried it and like it, though it didn't seem to have the latest data available - at least for my neighborhood. I think I should've gotten a very high walk score based on everything in a 1-2 mile radius of my apt and it didn't pull up a lot of the things that are nearby, even major ones. Weird .. but still useful regardless.
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