Prevention magazine has published a list of the best walking cities for several years in conjunction with the American Podiatric Medical Association. Because tonight is the D.O. it! Holiday Lights Walk I thought I’d go through the list for the cities regularly ranking highest on the list.
The criteria for the list are generally that the metropolitan area has safe streets, beautiful places to walk, mild weather and good air quality. They also factor in the number of athletic shoes sold in the city, the percentage of adult population who walk for exercise, the use of mass transit, and the amount of parks per square mile.
Has your city ever made the list? Do you think it should have made it? I see that Buffalo, NY is always toward the bottom… not ever having been to Buffalo, NY I figure that’s because the weather puts it down at the bottom. What about other places you’ve been?
| 2010:1 San Francisco, CA
2 Boston, MA 3 New York, NY 4 Philadelphia, PA 5 Chicago, IL 6 Washington, DC 7 Seattle, WA 8 Honolulu, HI 9 Portland, OR 10 Oakland, CA |
2009:1 San Francisco, CA
2 Boston, MA 3 New York, NY 4 Philadelphia, PA 5 Chicago, IL 6 Washington, DC 7 Seattle, WA 8 Honolulu, HI 9 Portland, OR 10 Pittsburgh, PA |
2008:1 Cambridge, MA
2 New York, NY 3 Ann Arbor, MI 4 Chicago, IL 5 Washington, DC 6 San Francisco, CA 7 Honolulu, HI 8 Trenton, NJ 9 Boston, MA 10 Cincinnati, OH |
2007:1 Madison, WI
2 Austin, TX 3 San Francisco, CA 4 Charlotte, NC 5 Seattle, WA 6 Henderson, NV 7 San Diego, CA 8 San Jose, CA 9 Chandler, AZ 10 Virginia Beach, VA |
One thing I love the best when I take a vacation is walking through the city I’m in. I like to see what life is like in a new place. I’m excited to know that I have walked in each of the cities on the 2010 list!
It’s interesting to see how the lists have changed in recent years. But it’s also useful to know these cities are good places to walk… it might save you some money on a rental car for your next vacation!
I hope you enjoy a walk tonight… and see some lights!!
