April 4, 2008

Cambridge was named the best walking city in America in the April issue of Prevention Magazine, with more residents walking to work and more parks per square mile than any other city evaluated, according to a just-released survey by Prevention magazine and the American Podiatric Medical Association. Walking kudos also goes to New York, ranked No. 2, and Ann Arbor, No. 3. The worst walking cities: Oklahoma City, North Las Vegas, and Gadsden, AL.

Prevention magazine and the American Podiatric Medical Association annually team up to measure the walkability of America's cities as interest in walking for fitness remains strong. Walking is the most popular form of exercise with about 88% of Americans walking for fitness.

New in this year's survey, more than 500 U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C., were evaluated and ranked on 14 walking criteria, including the percentage of adults who walk to work, number of parks per square mile, use of mass transit, and percentage of adults who walk for fitness. Also new this year, a best walking city was named in each of the 50 states from an evaluation of its 10 most populated cities.

This year's 10 best and 10 worst walking cities in the United States, according to the Prevention/APMA study:

10 Best U.S. Walking Cities of 2008

1. Cambridge, MA
2. New York, NY
3. Ann Arbor, MI
4. Chicago, IL
5. Washington, DC
6. San Francisco, CA
7. Honolulu, HI
8. Trenton, NJ
9. Boston, MA
10. Cincinnati, OH

1. Oklahoma City, OK
2. North Las Vegas, NV
3. Gadsden, AL
4. Davenport, IA
5. Mount Pleasant, SC
6. Enid, OK
7. Laredo, TX
8. Springdale, AR
9. Clarksville, TN
10. Lafayette, LA

To see the 100 Best Walking Cities in the nation, go to
http://www.prevention.com/100bestcities.