The first thing you’ll likely hear when you tell people you’re moving to Atlanta is that you better get used to being in a car. It’s true—Atlanta has been the poster child for sprawl, infamous for it’s traffic and long commutes. Fortunately, Atlanta is also known for its amazing micro-neighborhoods, many of which are so walkable that you won’t need a car to get around at all.

Just look at Inman Park, Decatur and the burgeoning Westside.

Downtown and Midtown are as walkable as any city in the country, especially now that the streetcar and BeltLine have launched. And Atlanta is only going to become more walkable as time goes on. But today, let’s not talk about the future. Let’s live in the present… just how walkable is Atlanta right now?

According to WalkScore, Atlanta is a car-dependent city with an overall score of 46. Likewise, a transit score of 43 suggests there is some transit in the city (MARTA), and a bike score of 50 indicates Atlanta has some bike infrastructure.

How does this compare to other cities? Atlanta is the 21st most walkable large city in the U.S., but even Baltimore (the 10th most walkable large city) has a WalkScore of 66. No surprise cities like New York and San Francisco earn scores of 88 and 84, respectively, while Portland and Denver crush our bike score by 20 points (they both rank at 70) and Boston and D.C. put our transit score to shame with rankings at 75 and 70, respectively. 

So Atlanta doesn't look so great...

but the good news is, when you compare Atlanta to other cities with similar populations (between 350,000 and 450,000), we actually come in 4th in terms of walkability, 5th in terms of transit and 10th in terms of biking. Plus, our neighborhoods are charming, we've got tons of beautiful trees, a modern downtown chockfull of cultural attractions and tons of great dining options. In fact, people in Atlanta can walk to an average of four restaurants, bars and coffee shops in five minutes, according to WalkScore.

While Atlanta does have a walkability/transit problem in terms of getting between various neighborhoods, the city is actually home to a plethora of walkable areas (read: once you’re there, you won’t need a car to get around). In fact, in our story about the future of Atlanta’s walkability, we discussed WalkUPs (walkable urban places), which are a great indicator of Atlanta’s most walkable areas. The report found that Atlanta is home to 27 WalkUPs, with nine more on the horizon and 10 more potentials.

More good news—Atlanta has at least one example of each type of regionally significant WalkUP. Take a look:

 

• Downtown: GSU Government Center and Peachtree Center
• Downtown Adjacent: Castleberry Hill, Centennial Olympic Park, Midtown and Sweet Auburn
• Urban Commercial: Arts Center, Buckhead Village, Inman Park, The Westside
• Urban University: Atlanta University Center, Emory and Georgia Tech
• Suburban Town Center: The Downtowns of Decatur, Marietta and Roswell
• Drivable Sub-Urban Commercial Redevelopment: Buckhead Triangle, Lindbergh, Perimeter at the Center
• Greenfield & Brownfield: Atlantic Station

Likewise, the latest WalkScores reveal that many Atlanta neighborhoods rank above 70 (meaning they’re Very Walkable and most errands can be accomplished on foot).

To wit, a list of Atlanta’s ten most walkable neighborhoods:

Neighborhood	WalkScore	TransitScore	BikeScore
Georgia State University	96	79	82
Peachtree Center	91	75	77
Buckhead Village	89	43	66
SoNo	87	67	78
Sweet Auburn	87	64	80
South Downtown	87	79	81
Midtown	84	63	76
Inman Park	83	58	81
Castleberry Hill	81	75	78
Old Fourth Ward	80	52	79

 

Other neighborhoods with WalkScores above 70 include:

• Poncey-Highland
• Centennial Hill
• Atlantic Station
• Home Park
• Cabbagetown
• Marietta Street Artery
• Harris Chiles
• Virginia Highland
• Buckhead Forest
• The Villages at Castleberry Hill
• Atlanta University Center
• West End
• Candler Park
• Georgia Tech
• Vine City

Get moving!

Story by Kate Parham Kordsmeier, the Atlanta expert for About Travel and author of Atlanta Chef’s Table: Extraordinary Recipes from the Big Peach. Kate can be reached on twitter @KPKords or via email at kpkords@gmail.com. Don't forget to like us on Facebook.