Miami’s strides toward walkability are paying off, according to a new study from StorageCafe. The company analyzed U.S. metros based on residents’ ability to navigate the cities without a car and ranked Miami No. 2, second only to Minneapolis.
The storage solutions company used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Zillow and other sources to score cities based on accessibility for pedestrians and transit-users. Miami’s densely developed neighborhoods and bike-friendlines helped boost the city’s ranking.
Miami earned a walkability score of 77 out of 100 and a 64 out of 100 for bike-friendliness. Plus, residents have plenty of places to walk to: Citywide, Miami has 8.22 restaurants and 17.27 retail locations per 1,000 residents.
Furthermore, the average non-car commute in Miami is just below half an hour at 26.6 minutes. That’s almost half the time of New York’s average non-car commute of 40.4 minutes.
New initiatives like the Underline, a 10-mile walking and biking green belt that originates downtown, make it easier than ever for Miami residents to embrace a car-free lifestyle.
“Miami might seem like a surprising frontrunner in the ranking of the best walk and ride cities, but the reality is that it’s making huge strides when it comes to walkability and reducing its dependence on cars,” said StorageCafe analysts. “Besides banking on relatively high walk, transit and bike scores, this Floridian hotspot boasts a dense network of amenities like retail, restaurants, schools and healthcare centers, which facilitate access to all of it by public transportation, bike or simply by walking.”