Walk Score Gives Local Experts A Voice

SEATTLE, Sept. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Walk Score®, the leading measure of neighborhood walkability and the only service that makes it easy to find places to live where you can drive less and live more, today launched a new iPhone app and website that invites everyone to share and discover the places that make neighborhoods unique.

"Nobody knows your neighborhood better than you do. Every day we hear from people telling us how special their neighborhoods are, pointing out their wonderful tree-lined sidewalks, outdoor spaces, nearby restaurants and locally owned shops," said Josh Herst, CEO Walk Score. "Adding this rich local insight to Walk Score marks an important step toward our vision of empowering people to find great places to live, work and play where they can drive less and live more."

"Walkability is key to great neighborhoods," said Richard Florida, author of Rise of the Creative Class Revisited. "Walk Score's new tools help gauge the aesthetics and experiences of a neighborhood and complete the picture for people deciding where to live."

Updated iPhone App and Website

With Walk Score's new iPhone app (available for free in the Apple App Store) and website you can now:

• Share neighborhood gems including the local businesses, public art, architecture and green spaces you love, and comment on other people's pictures and reviews.
• Identify and report walkability problem spots such as dangerous intersections and high-crime areas that you'd like fixed and share lists of these places with neighbors and public officials.
• View crowd-sourced neighborhood tours including maps, pictures and comments about nearby dining, coffee, groceries, schools, parks and more.
• Discover new places and experiences by browsing recently added places, pictures and comments by neighborhood or by individual contributor.

Great Neighborhoods Are More Than Numbers

Great neighborhoods are not defined alone by their Walk Score or by their demographics like age, income and education level. Great neighborhoods are places to which residents and visitors feel emotionally attached.

A 2010 study by the Knight Foundation and Gallup found three qualities that create emotional attachment to neighborhoods:

• Social opportunities including great places to meet people such as coffee shops, and the availability of arts and cultural activities;
• Community openness to people of different ages, family types and ethnic backgrounds, and
• Appealing aesthetics including the availability of parks, playgrounds and trails.

(Source: http://www.soulofthecommunity.org)

Walk Score is now combining the power of its quantitative scores, maps and lists of nearby amenities with crowd-sourced photos and comments to empower people to explore neighborhoods through the eyes of the people who know them best.

Local Experts: Claim Your Neighborhood

Effective October 1, 2012, everyone who has contributed 10 or more pictures and comments within a neighborhood will be highlighted as a "Local Expert." Visit http://walk.sc/NeighborhoodTours to learn more about how local experts such as real estate professionals, walkability advocates and travel organizations are already using Walk Score's new features to promote their neighborhoods.

About Walk Score

Walk Score® is the leading measure of neighborhood walkability and the only website and iPhone app that makes it easy to find neighborhoods where you can drive less and live more. Walk Score believes that walkable neighborhoods with access to public transit, shorter commutes and proximity to the people and places you love are the key to a happier, healthier and more sustainable lifestyle. Walk Score's new iPhone app and website empower people to add photos of neighborhood gems, walkability problem spots and nearby amenities to Walk Score neighborhood maps. Walk Score's proprietary score is a number between 0 and 100 that measures the walkability of any address. Walk Score delivers more than 6 million scores for apartment and home addresses per day across a network of over 15,000 real estate sites. Walk Score's Advisory Board includes urban planning, environmental and technical experts from organizations such as Sightline Institute and The Brookings Institution. According to independent research conducted by CEOs for Cities, one point of Walk Score adds up to $3,000 to home values. To find your Walk Score, enter your address at http://www.walkscore.com.

Media contact: Anne Taylor Hartzell, [email protected] / 206.850.6501

SOURCE Walk Score