Walk Score is a publicly-available tool that rates the walkability (ease of walking and biking) of U.S. neighborhoods and communities as defined by their zip codes. The current version of the software measures the straight-line or "crow-fly" distance to nearby destinations and amenities (e.g. businesses, grocery stores, parks, etc.). For this project, Front Seat, the producer of Walk Score, will develop and write software to calculate road network distances by connecting routing software and road network data. The improved software will more closely reflect actual on-the-ground walking behavior. Front Seat staff will work closely with Urban Design 4 Health, Inc. staff to provide Walk Score data for their research. By identifying where Walk Score does and does not match walking behavior, Walk Score and researchers interested in walkability will gain a better sense of the strengths and weaknesses of Walk Score.
