Prevention and the APMA annually team up to measure the walkability of America’s cities as interest in walking for fitness remains strong. Walking is the most popular form of exercise with 87.5 percent of Americans walking for fitness.
New in this year’s survey, more than 500 U.S. cities, including D.C., were evaluated and ranked on 14 walking criteria, including the percentage of adults who walk to work, number of parks per square mile, use of mass transit, and percentage of adults who walk for fitness. Also new this year, a best walking city was named in each of the 50 states from an evaluation of its 10 most populated cities.
10 Best U.S. Walking Cities of 2008
1. Cambridge
2. New York, N.Y.
3. Ann Arbor, Mich.
4. Chicago, Ill.
5. Washington, D.C.
6. San Francisco
7. Honolulu
8. Trenton, N.J.
9. Boston
10. Cincinnati