In recent Walk Score ratings of the mobility of communities across the nation, Washington D.C. comes in as the 7th most walkable large city in the U.S.
It has an overall walk score of 74 (out of a possible 100).
The gurus at Walk Score also give props to The Capitol for being a pretty place to walk, and a good place to walk with a purpose, saying “DC has a wealth of walkable neighborhoods with classic row houses and nearly endless attractions.”
The District is also renowned for the Capital Bike Share program, and for miles of well-maintained bike routes. Walk Score also calls the city’s topography “bicycle friendly.”
DC’s 601,723 residents are also very well-served by public transportation, with a transit score of 71. DC’s Metro service goes out to the Beltway and beyond, providing easy commutes for those who live in outlying areas.
The heart of the transit system is Dupont Circle, which is rated as the most walkable neighborhood in DC. The transit system in the Dupont Circle neighborhood provides exceptional access to those attractions many visitors to The Capitol want to see: the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, the Mall, and the White House. The area has an overall transit score of 92. It is the largest of the top five walkable neighborhoods, with 17,057 residents.
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Second place for most walkable DC neighborhood goes to U-Street . Also termed a “walker’s paradise,” it ties Dupont Circle with a Walk score of 97, and earns a 85 for transit and a 93 for bikeability, the best score in the DC area in that measure.
In third place is Downtown-Penn Quarter-Chinatown. This neighborhood earns a perfect 100 in transit, and a 97 in walkability. For bikers, it earns an 88.
Mount Vernon Square, the smallest neighborhood in the top five, with 6,494 residents, received a 96 for walkability. It gets another perfect score for transit, and an 89 for bicyclists.
Rounding out the top five is the Adams Morgan neighborhood. This stately area received a 94 for walkability, and 82 for transit, and a 90 for bikers.
Walk Score measures the walkability of any address based on the distance to nearby places and pedestrian friendliness. All of DC’s top five are called a “walker’s paradise,” meaning that daily errands don’t require a car.
Transit Score measures how well a location is served by public transit based on the distance and type of nearby transit lines. The top five in DC fall into one of the top two categories: either “rider’s paradise,” for those with scores between 90 and 100, or “excellent transit” for scores of 70 to 89. “Excellent transit” means that transit is convenient for most trips, and the honor of “rider’s paradise” indicates that the area has world-class public transportation.
Bike Score measures whether an area is good for biking based on bike lanes and trails, hills, road connectivity, and destinations. DC’s top five come in as either a “biker’s paradise” (score of 90 to 100) or “very bikeable” (score in the 70 to 89 range).
