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# People like to walk in L.A.?
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/people-like-to-walk-in-l-a/
- Published: 2007-12-05T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-25T01:21:07.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

LOS ANGELES — THE CITY WHERE YOU NEVER WALK. Missing Persons wrote a song “Walking in L.A.” which touts the fact that this town isn’t one for pedestrians. However, Los Angeles is a city of change. Angelenos are often the first in the country to adapt to new technologies such as hybrid vehicles. That’s why Honda is testing its new hydrogen vehicle in the Southland next year. In addition, it seems the ability to walk to nearby locations is becoming a valuable “must have” for new homeowners. One company, Walk Score at Walkscore.com, saw the value in walking to locations and rates a property’s walk-ability.

It seems that the times they are-a-changin’. Walk Score is a Web site developed by Matt Lerner, Jesse Kocher and Mike Mathieu. Lerner said,“What Walk Score does is fairly simple, we measure whether you can get to the types of businesses that customers want and then we base a score on that.”

Using Google Maps and business listings, the site computes a Walk Score for U.S. and Canadian addresses. Like grades in school, the higher the Walk Score the closer the property is to local business, schools, restaurants, etc. I was playing around with the site and discovered a small restaurant I did not know existed a couple of blocks from my office.

The two obvious benefits of walking to a location are exercise and the environment. When you are walking to a location instead of driving, you are doing your small part to help the environment. Of course walking exercises your body. However, walking also helps local businesses.

Imagine driving down a main throughway such as Lincoln Boulevard. If you drove south on Lincoln from the city of Santa Monica to the community of Marina del Rey, you would miss a plethora of businesses. I am not suggesting walking great distances, as our time is valuable, but if you decided to walk a few blocks, instead of driving, you would come across businesses that you miss everyday in a car at 35 miles an hour. Those small businesses thrive on foot traffic.

As for home values, think about the benefit of placing a Walk Score on a property listing.

Apartment owners can also benefit from a high Walk Score. If you are an apartment owner, think about touting the Walk Score to potential tenants. If your property is in the middle of a city such as Santa Monica or Culver City, you may benefit from a walk score above 90, which implies high walk-ability. Tenants, just like homeowners, want to know what amenities exist within walking distance.

For me personally, walking from location to location is great. Not dealing with parking is always a plus in L.A. Walk Score is a great idea whose time has come. Benefiting from Google Maps technology and an extremely simple, fun interface makes Walk Score a valuable tool for realtors, homeowners, apartment owners and renters alike.

MIKE HEAYN is a Washington Mutual Multi-Family Loan Consultant. He 310-428-1342, or e-mailed at

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 5, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/120507.pdf?ref=smdp.com)