Renters and buyers are increasingly choosing homes based on their walkability, placing a premium on areas that provide walking distance access to infrastructure; like public transport, shops, restaurants, pubs, parks, bike paths and exercise areas.
There is even a global city’s walkability rating system called Walk Score. Not surprisingly New York tops the list in the US with San Francisco ranked second and Boston third. Vancouver is the most walkable city in Canada and in Australia, Sydney followed by Melbourne and Adelaide are the most walkable cities.
In Sydney, (Walk Score 63), Haymarket tops the suburbs and scores a possible 99 out of 100 in the Walk Score rating with people in Haymarket able to walk to an average of 198 restaurants, bars and coffee shops in five minutes. The Rocks (98), Sydney (98), Ultimo (98) and Surrey Hills (97) complete the top five most walkable Sydney suburbs.
In Melbourne (Walk Score 57), Carlton tops the list (97) followed by Fitzroy (69), Fitzroy North (93), Melbourne (93) and St Kilda (93). Carlton is a traditional walking suburb with a strong academic and medical demographic serviced by over 950 restaurants, coffee shops and bars. There are many 30-year-olds in Carlton, having grown up in the area, who have never bothered to get a car licence.
Cashed up empty nesters in Melbourne that have sold their family home are being drawn to these more pedestrian friendly addresses like Carlton and Fitzroy. These buyers are still often seeking a car space with their new downsized property because they still feel attached to their motor vehicle, plus the perceived value that a car space adds, if they decide to sell or rent it out later down the track.
The ongoing challenge for many Australian suburbs is that the areas were designed more around car transport so there’s now a growing call to retrofit these suburbs, and ‘wind back the clock’ to include more local walkable experiences. The key is getting the balance right because buyers and renters want to be within walking distance to all the action, but not next door to restaurants and pubs because of the impact of the added noise and smells – somewhere between 250 to 350 metres seems to be the current walkability sweet spot.
Some councils are beginning to embrace this new walkability ethos with one council on the outskirts of Melbourne recently amending its planning scheme to incorporate designs that naturally support healthy lifestyles to include networks for walking, cycling and plenty of nearby parks in each new development.
