In Metro Detroit, the mantra for many decades has been: Why walk when you can drive.
John Gallagher of the Detroit Free Press reports that Metro Detroit ranks low in its share of walkable urban districts among the nation’s 30 largest cities.
But he reports that the area shows potential to move up in the rankings "thanks to the rapid redevelopment of downtown and Midtown and the popularity of suburbs like Royal Oak and Birmingham, a new national study showed Tuesday."
The study, “Foot Traffic Ahead: Ranking Walkable Urbanism in America’s 30 Largest Metros,” was released by LOCUS, a program of the Smart Growth America real estate development association, in partnership with George Washington University’s Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis.
He writes:
The report ranked Metro Detroit 22nd for walkable urban areas, with just 11% of its large commercial office and retail projects located in districts where workers and visitors can walk to their destinations. That compares to 43% of “walk-ups” in Washington D.C., the nation’s most walkable urban area
