See how walkable your neighborhood really is.
Score sidewalks, crossings, lighting, and nearby amenities with a clear checklist. No black-box algorithm. Just what you see when you walk.
Takes about 5 minutes. Works on any device.
Walkability Checklist
Comparison
| Criterion | Neighborhood A | Neighborhood B |
|---|---|---|
| Total | -- | -- |
How to Score Fairly
Walk before you score
Spend at least 20 minutes walking your neighborhood before filling out the checklist. Try a route you would actually use to get to a store, park, or transit stop. Score what you experience on that route, not what you remember from a single good or bad block.
Use the full scale
Many people cluster their scores around 2 or 3. Try to use the full 0 to 5 range. If every criterion scores a 3, the total will not tell you much. Ask yourself: is this the best it could be, or the worst? Then place your score relative to those extremes.
Score for a typical day, not a perfect one
Do not score on a sunny Saturday afternoon when the farmer's market is out. Score for a Tuesday evening in November, or whenever you would normally walk. Seasonal changes matter. Snow and ice can drop a neighborhood's infrastructure score by several points.
Adjust weights to match your life
If you have a toddler, sidewalk condition and curb ramps might matter more than transit. If you do not drive, nearby grocery stores could be the most important category. Use the weight sliders to reflect what you actually need.
What the scores mean
Common mistakes
- Scoring just your block. One tree-lined street does not represent the whole area. Walk at least four or five blocks in different directions.
- Ignoring time of day. A street that feels safe at noon can feel very different at 10 p.m. Score for the times you actually walk.
- Counting amenities you never use. A fancy restaurant two blocks away does not help if you need a pharmacy. Score based on what you need, not what exists.
- Forgetting about maintenance. New sidewalks score well at first, but cracks and tree root damage appear within a few years. Score what you see now.
Using your results
Print the summary and bring it to a neighborhood association meeting or city council comment session. Specific scores are more useful than general complaints. Saying "our sidewalk condition scored 1 out of 5, with three broken blocks on Maple Street" gets more attention than "the sidewalks are bad." You can also share your score link with friends who are house-hunting, or compare two neighborhoods side by side before deciding where to move.
Example Scores
Here are three sample neighborhoods to show how different areas score. These are based on real-world patterns, not specific addresses.
Old Town Rowhouses
68 / 100A 70-year-old neighborhood with mature trees, narrow sidewalks, and a small commercial strip two blocks from most homes. Crossings are marked but waits are long. Good lighting on main streets, dark on side streets. No grocery store within a 15-minute walk, but a weekly farmer's market helps.
New Suburban Development
34 / 100Built in the last decade with wide roads and cul-de-sacs. Sidewalks exist on one side of most streets but dead-end at property lines. No crosswalks on the main road. A shopping center is a 25-minute walk away across a four-lane highway with no pedestrian bridge. Street lighting is adequate but there are almost no other walkers.
Downtown Mixed-Use
91 / 100A dense area with wide sidewalks, protected bike lanes, and signals at every intersection. Three grocery stores, a library, and a park are all within a 10-minute walk. Curb ramps are everywhere. Lighting is bright. The main downside is heavy foot traffic during rush hour, which can make walking feel crowded.