Three Florida cities have been named the least walkable metro areas in the country, according to a new study released by the George Washington University School of Business and nonprofit group Smart Growth America.
Orlando was last in the ranking of 30 metropolitan areas. Tampa was only slightly better, at 28th. Miami came in at 23rd.
The study measured metro residents’ ability to walk between home, work, stores, and other destinations. There were only 17 “WalkUPs”, or “regionally significant, walkable, urban places” discovered in Miami. Tampa and Orlando were only found to have six and three, respectively.
Washington D.C., which topped the list, had 45.
However, according to the study, Miami is making “surprising and unexpected” shifts in its urban development. The South Florida mecca placed fourth in relation to the potential urban walkability development. In this list, Tampa ranked 10th, while Orlando came in at 18th.
