In the new walkable real estate world, cars don’t matter and neighborhoods and cities get rated by proximity to restaurants and retail, parks and other perks of urban living.
Enter Redfin and its new study of which 10 U.S. cities have the best “infrastructure to support a car-free lifestyle.” Specifically, the rankings show which cities (with populations greater than 300,000) “have the highest composite Walk Score, Transit Score and Bike Score rankings. These are places where you could forgo having a car and still be able to get around town in a variety of ways, whether it be by foot, bike or public transit.”
As you see in the chart below, San Francisco is No. 1 on the list, followed by New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. Toward the bottom of the list is Seattle, No. 9, and finally Oakland, No. 10.
Redfin agent Mia Simon says prospective home buyers in San Francisco often travel between home tours “on foot and via public transit to get a feel for what life would be like at their new home without a car.” She adds that “most people in San Francisco don’t own cars. It’s said that if you want to own a home that has parking, plan on adding about $300,000 to the cost of your home.”
Ouch.
As for Oakland, Simon notes the abundance of public transportation — bus, BART, ferry — for the many commuters who work in San Francisco. She adds: “Neighborhoods like Rockridge and Uptown, Lake Merrit/Grand are all super walkable. There are also 13 neighborhoods with a Bike Score above 90, making them a biker’s paradise.”
By the way, San Jose didn’t rate as well: It tied for 20th place with Detroit and Sacramento.
Read the report here.
Photo: The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)