"The Link Between Walkable Neighborhoods and Race."

File under: Things no one wants to talk about in New Albany, either.

The Link Between Walkable Neighborhoods and Race, by Richard Florida (City Lab)

African Americans are far more likely to live in the San Francisco Bay Area’s least walkable neighborhoods. Why?

Walkability is not only good for you: It’s a highly desired characteristic of housing and neighborhoods. I’ve written before about the connection between walkable neighborhoods and higher housing values, reduced rates of violent crime, obesity, premature death and long-term memory loss, as well as higher levels of creativity and civic engagement. But a recent study from California Polytechnic State University’s William Riggs reminds us that not all urbanites have the same kind of access to walkable streets and neighborhoods. The study, which focuses on the San Francisco Bay Area, finds a considerable racial divide when it comes to access to walkability, with black residents much less likely to live in the area’s walkable neighborhoods.