We all love our dogs, but when it comes to walking them, how much do they love our cities? From terrain to climate to community, some p...
We all love our dogs, but when it comes to walking them, how much do they love our cities? From terrain to climate to community, some places are simply better for our furry friends (and their owners) than others. A recent study by LawnStarter ranking 174 major cities in four categories gives us an idea of where the best are.
The first category was “walkability,” which pulled scores from the website Walkscore.com. The more daily errands that can be done at a given location without using a car, the higher the walkscore. Next is “environment,” where scoring was based on the availability of dog parks and dog-friendly trails. “Services” measured the availability of local dog walking services and their hourly rates. Finally, “Security” added crime statistics and pedestrian deaths into the mix. Data for these measures were taken from AllTrails.comthe National Highway Safety Administration, Neighborhoodscout.com, Petsitter.com and other LawnStarter studies.
Turns out it’s complicated. Some cities performed very well in one category but poorly in another. Orlando, Florida, for example, had the most dog walkers per capita, but also the most pedestrian deaths. New York, known as a walkable city, ranked fifth for “walkability” but 168th for expensive “services” – which explains the armies of dogs often led by a single walker.
In the end, seven of the top 10 cities for dog walking were in the west, including Portland, Oregon, San Francisco and Colorado Springs, thanks in large part to easy access to dog parks, trails and trails. dog-friendly businesses. And most of the bottom 10 were in the south, including Jackson, Mississippi, and Port St. Lucie, Fla. — “neither the most walkable nor the most dog-friendly,” according to the study.
Below is this week’s table, based on LawnStarter’s rankings.
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