Walkable downtowns gain in popularity

Walkable cities – who knew? Well, we did. But it seems the rest of the country is catching up. Walkable cities are a national trend, according to a new Brookings Institute report by real estate developer, Brookings visiting fellow and University of Michigan prof Christopher Leinberger.Washington, D.C. is the nation’s most walkable city, according to the report. Detroit ranks 18th.

Excerpt:

Leinberger, who also teaches urban planning at the University of Michigan, counted only places where significant subsidies are no longer required to spur development. He predicted many more – such as downtown Detroit and Crossroads in Kansas City, Mo. – would reach that point within the next decade. He counted 157 such walkable places; the survey did not take into account the size of each.
 

Read the entire article here.