Walkable Cities Canada: Walk Score Grades Canada's Cities

Canada, it's time to get out and stretch your legs — but if you're on the west coast, you're probably already doing that.

Walk Score, the Seattle-based company known for its rankings of addresses across North America for their "walkability," released their first ever list of Canadian cities according to the stores and services easily accessible by walking. And to what we would imagine to be few people's surprise, Vancouver took the top spot.

Besides the relatively temperate weather in the British Columbia city, Vancouver is also known for its active citizens — last year, the city showed a very high ranking on a list of bike-friendly places to live (which is also run by Walk Score).

"Walkability tends to be based on two things," Matt Lerner, co-founder of Walk Score, told The Huffington Post Canada. "Whether most of the development happened before everyone owned a car, and whether the area has natural barriers like water that inhibit sprawl to make cities more dense and walkable."

In the case of Vancouver, he notes, the entire downtown area is a walker's paradise, with a great focus on balancing green space, like Stanley Park, with high-density housing.

As noted by The Atlantic, people are willing to pay a premium to live in an accessible neighbourhood, doling out up to $300 more per month in some cities for the convenience. Many real estate sites have in turn added a Walk Score badge to listings to best help potential homeowners suss out what's nearby. Rankings are based on anything from the proximity of public transit and schools to grocery stores and bookshops.

Almost 9,000,000 results show up for potential apartment renters and homeowners around the world, says Lerner, a tribute to how many people are interested in living a walkable lifestyle.

And it's not just a matter of staying out of the car or saving the environment by not using that gas either. Health is a huge factor as well — one Utah study even found people weighed anywhere from six to 10 pounds less if they lived in walkable neighbourhoods. Interestingly, the most walkable cities correspond closely — though not exactly — to the fittest cities in the country, as listed by Maclean's last year.

SEE: The Walk Scores for the most populous cities in Canada (those with populations over 150,000), as well as the provinicial and territorial capitals. (NOTE - rankings indicate only those cities listed, and are not indicative of the complete list). A full list of Canadian locations can be found here. Are you surprised by the results?

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#1: Vancouver
City: Vancouver, British Columbia Walk Score: 78 Population: 603,502 Rated: Very Walkable Best Neighbourhoods For Walkability: Downtown, West End, Stratcona
#2: Victoria
City: Victoria, British Columbia Walk Score: 77.7 Population: 80,017 Rated: Very Walkable Best Neighbourhoods For Walkability: Harris Green, Downtown, North Park
#3: Toronto
City: Toronto, Ontario Walk Score: 71.4 Population: 2,615,060 Rated: Very Walkable Best Neighbourhoods For Walkability: Bay Street Corridor, Church-Yonge Corridor, Kensington-Chinatown
#4: Halifax
City: Halifax, Nova Scotia Walk Score: 70.5 Population: 97,854 Rated: Very Walkable
#5: Montreal
City: Montreal, Quebec Walk Score: 70.4 Population: 1,649,519 Rated: Very Walkable Best Neighbourhoods For Walkability: Plateau-Mont-Royal, Ville-Marie, Outremont
#6: Burnaby
City: Burnaby, British Columbia Walk Score: 63.6 Population: 223,218 Rated: Somewhat Walkable
#7: Mississauga
City: Mississauga, Ontario Walk Score: 58.6 Population: 713,443 Rated: Somewhat Walkable
#8: Longueuil
City: Longueuil, Quebec Walk Score: 56.4 Population: 231,409 Rated: Somewhat Walkable
#9: Yellowknife
City: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Walk Score: 56.2 Population: 19,234 Rated: Somewhat Walkable
#10: Richmond
City: Richmond, British Columbia Walk Score: 55.1 Population: 190,473 Rated: Somewhat Walkable
#11: Burlington
City: Burlington, Ontario Walk Score: 54.1 Population: 175,799 Rated: Somewhat Walkable
#12: Ottawa
City: Ottawa, Ontario Walk Score: 53.9 Population: 883,391 Rated: Somewhat Walkable Best Neighbourhoods For Walkability: Somerset, Rideau-Vanier, Capital
#13: Winnipeg
City: Winnipeg, Manitoba Walk Score: 52.9 Population: 663,617 Rated: Somewhat Walkable
#14: Saskatoon
City: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Walk Score: 51.7 Population: 222,189 Rated: Somewhat Walkable Best Neighbourhoods For Walkability: Central Business District, Nutana, City Park
#15: Surrey
City: Surrey, British Columbia Walk Score: 51.2 Population: 468,251 Rated: Somewhat Walkable
#16: Charlottetown
City: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Walk Score: 51.2 Population: 34,562 Rated: Somewhat Walkable
#17: Edmonton
City: Edmonton, Alberta Walk Score: 50.9 Population: 812,201 Rated: Somewhat Walkable Best Neighbourhoods For Walkability: Downtown, Garneau, Rossdale
#18: Hamilton
City: Hamilton, Ontario Walk Score: 50.9 Population: 519,949 Rated: Somewhat Walkable
#19: Oakville
City: Oakville, Ontario Walk Score: 50.9 Population: 182,520 Rated: Somewhat Walkable
#20: Oshawa
City: Oshawa, Ontario Walk Score: 50.9 Population: 149,607 Rated: Somewhat Walkable
#21: Richmond Hill
City: Richmond Hill, Ontario Walk Score: 50.3 Population: 185,541 Rated: Somewhat Walkable
#22: Regina
City: Regina, Saskatchewan Walk Score: 49.8 Population: 193,100 Rated: Somewhat Walkable Best Neighbourhoods For Walkability: Old 33, Arcola Sub, Crescents
#23: Vaughan
City: Vaughan, Ontario Walk Score: 49.4 Population: 288,301 Rated: Car-Dependent
#24: Windsor
City: Windsor, Ontario Walk Score: 49.1 Population: 210,891 Rated: Car-Dependent Best Neighbourhoods For Walkability: City Centre, South Central, Walkerville
#25: Québec
City: Québec City, Quebec Walk Score: 48.9 Population: 516,622 Rated: Car-Dependent Best Neighbourhoods For Walkability: Saint-Jean Baptiste, Saint Roch, Vieux-Québec/Cap-Blanc/Colline parlementaire
#26: London
City: London, Ontario Walk Score: 48.6 Population: 366,151 Rated: Car-Dependent
#27: Brampton
City: Brampton, Ontario Walk Score: 48.1 Population: 523,911 Rated: Car-Dependent
#28: Calgary
City: Calgary, Alberta Walk Score: 47.9 Population: 1,096,833 Rated: Car-Dependent Best Neighbourhoods For Walkability: Chinatown, Downtown Commercial Core, Cliff Bungalow
#29: Markham
City: Markham, Ontario Walk Score: 47.2 Population: 301,709 Rated: Car-Dependent
#30: Kitchener
City: Kitchener, Ontario Walk Score: 47.1 Population: 219,153 Rated: Car-Dependent
#31: Laval
City: Laval, Quebec Walk Score: 46.8 Population: 401,553 Rated: Car-Dependent
#32: St. John's
City: St. John's, Newfoundland Walk Score: 45.6 Population: 106,172 Rated: Car-Dependent
#33: Gatineau
City: Gatineau, Quebec Walk Score: 43.8 Population: 265,349 Rated: Car-Dependent
#34: Sherbrooke
City: Sherbrooke, Quebec Walk Score: 39.2 Population: 154,601 Rated: Car-Dependent
#35: Fredericton
City: Fredericton, New Brunswick Walk Score: 38.9 Population: 56,224 Rated: Car-Dependent Best Neighbourhoods For Walkability: UNB/East End, Sunshine Gardens/West End, Odell Park/Parkside Drive
#36: Whitehorse
City: Whitehorse, Yukon Walk Score: 25.6 Population: 23,276 Rated: Car-Dependent

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HUFFPOST SUPER USER

Selene Cusping

Annoying MRM & radical feminists forever

183 Fans

03:00 PM on 01/24/2013

Okay, I'm reading the comments, and I looked at the list. Then I went back and read the criteria.

"Walkability tends to be based on two things," Matt Lerner, co-founder of Walk Score, told The Huffington Post Canada. "Whether most of the development happened before everyone owned a car, and whether the area has natural barriers like water that inhibit sprawl to make cities more dense and walkable."

But the list still doesn't make sense. Mississauga is more walkable than Quebec City? Which was virtually the FIRST city in North America.

My advice, go back and look at the criteria. This list is inaccurate at best and mostly misleading.

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valar84

132 Fans

03:53 PM on 01/24/2013

The old neighborhoods of Québec City are very walkable, it's just that Québec City is much bigger now than it was then, and the new developments are horrible. Especially since the mergers, when it integrated the soulless suburbia of Sainte-Foy.

As to the scores, they're actually calculated based on how many things are at a walking distance, google their name, "walkscore" and try it yourself with your own address. I think they just average the results over the area to get their scores for cities.

The two factors he names are the things that tend to make the scores better, and it's true. Old neighborhoods tend to be much more walkable than new developments, that's true in big cities and in small cities. For example, most of Longueuil is not very walkable, but in the old sections of Longueuil, near the St-Laurent, it is quite walkable.

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Rebecca Zamon

260 Fans

05:06 PM on 01/24/2013

Hi Selene - sorry for any confusion. That quote from Matt isn't about the criteria on which Walk Score is based, but instead, his analysis of what tends to make a city 'walkable.' If you'd like to take a look at the breakdown of how Walk Score arrives at its number, you can check out this link here: http://www.walkscore.com/rankings/ranking-methodology.shtml

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PeaceG

319 Fans

10:51 AM on 01/24/2013

Ottawa is 'somewhat walkable'? Wrongo! All of downtown, Sussex, New Edinburgh, the Glebe, Sandy Hill - it is a fantastic walking city - and that's not even mentioning the Canal, Driveway, and Parkway sidewalks and scenery. On a visit a couple years ago, I walked all day every day for six days and had a great time.

12:28 PM on 01/24/2013

It definitely seems to depend on the specific address, PeaceG. One of the things Walk Score notes is that it doesn't take into account things like street design, which can definitely make a personal difference. Glad to hear you were able to enjoy Ottawa on your feet!

03:55 PM on 01/24/2013

I think they average the score over the entire area of the city. So if you have a city with an old neighborhood that is a walker's paradise but that includes suburban developments in its outskirts (for example, Ottawa, Québec City, Montréal, etc...), the score will only be average.

butchcliff

The future is unwritten

261 Fans

10:07 AM on 01/24/2013

Agree with most but Halifax can be pretty trying with the hill part of downtown.

12:29 PM on 01/24/2013

That's another one of the aspects that aren't taken into account, butchcliff (see my comment above). Hills can be such a pain and definitely deter people (um, like me) from walking for sure.

01:30 PM on 01/24/2013

Can't imagine walking from the waterfront to the Citadel in Halifax. There are hills in all cities, visited most, lived in a few, but Halifax is not great for walking unless you stay at the harbor area.

cbos

152 Fans

01:43 PM on 01/24/2013

I prefer walking and peddling uphill. Better exercise and if sure feels good when you get to the top

02:02 PM on 01/24/2013

Not all people can handle going uphill for long. Article is about best cities for walking

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Walkable Cities Canada: Walk Score Grades Canada's Cities

#1: Vancouver

#2: Victoria

#3: Toronto

#4: Halifax

#5: Montreal

#6: Burnaby

#7: Mississauga

#8: Longueuil

#9: Yellowknife

#10: Richmond

#11: Burlington

#12: Ottawa

#13: Winnipeg

#14: Saskatoon

#15: Surrey

#16: Charlottetown

#17: Edmonton

#18: Hamilton

#19: Oakville

#20: Oshawa

#21: Richmond Hill

#22: Regina

#23: Vaughan

#24: Windsor

#25: Québec

#26: London

#27: Brampton

#28: Calgary

#29: Markham

#30: Kitchener

#31: Laval

#32: St. John's

#33: Gatineau

#34: Sherbrooke

#35: Fredericton

#36: Whitehorse

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