More walkable, more fair

Walkability leads to higher social equity, even in cities that have higher housing costs, according to research in the new report Foot Traffic Ahead. The graph above shows that cities with more office, retail, and multifamily development in walkable urban locations also score the highest in social equity. The authors ranked social equity by measuring housing costs as a percentage of income, transportation costs as a percentage of income, and access to jobs. New York City, DC, Boston, San Francisco, and Minneapolis-St. Paul metros came out on top—a result that the authors found "surprising." These cities tend to have low transportation costs and high access to jobs. Of the largest 30 metro areas, three in Florida—Orlando, Tampa, and Miami—were ranked at the bottom of the list.