Lee Byron, recent Carnegie Mellon grad and newly inducted New York Times graphics intern, maps walkability in San Francisco. He scraped Walk Score for uh, walk scores, which are scores from 0-100 based on the amenities around a location like “nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc” – how easy it is to live without a car.
Color was calculated on a per pixel basis using bicubic interpolation. From there he let Processing do the graphical labor to construct a map overlay. The result, which is accurate to the block, is a pretty one.
If you want data (sans map) for your own neighborhood, Lee has kindly provided the scraper.
Great study. That definitely comfort me in my choice of living in SF!
Great study. That definitely comfort me in my choice of living in SF!
In San Francisco, one element of walkability is whether you’re on the bottom of a hill and your destination is at the top of a hill. Ten blocks in San Francisco is not the same thing as ten blocks in Miami.
dude! Where’s the rest of the city?