Google Maps Gets You There, Walkonomics Gets You There Beautifully

The Walkonomics app will help you find more scenic walking routes along tree-lined streets (and avoid the dreary ones)

Laura Yan - 31 july 2015

Walkonomics is an app that wants you to take the more scenic route. The app will find attractive, beautiful streets for your route, rather than the most direct way to go. The app is build using government Open Data and OpenStreetMap, and currently includes walkability ratings for over 700,000 streets and footpaths in New York, San Francisco, and England.




The rating system relies on eight factors to decide what’s a walkable street. They factor in anything from safety (based on road accident or crime data), to ease of navigation, to aesthetic qualities like whether a street is “smart and beautiful” (tree lined and clean) or fun and relaxing (“can you play in this street?). There’s even the more ambiguous determinator of “hilliness”-flat streets are easier to walk, but high up walks might offer pretty views.



Another feature on the app will also let you see everything that is a five-minute walk away: parks, libraries, schools, grocery shops, or coffee shops.
I tried out Walkonomics to see if it could help solve the problem of my Least Favorite Walk in Brooklyn. My apartment is a 15 -inute walk away to the bustling Atlantic Ave-Barclays Center, a major transit hub in downtown Brooklyn. Google Maps always advises me to take the shortest, most direct route down Atlantic Avenue, a busy, wide street full of trucks and construction sites, with rarely a tree in sight. It’s a terrible walk.



Walkonomics gave me two suggested routes (you can use a slider to toggle between walks that are faster or prettier), and both avoided the dreaded Atlantic Avenue. Instead, it sent me strolling through quiet neighborhood streets full of brownstones and trees. It still couldn’t completely bypass the ugly construction site at the end, but it’s certainly an improvement.
Walkonomics is a fantastic idea, though it still needs a little polishing when it comes to the app interface and navigation. Still, walking makes you happier and trees can make you feel healthier. If you’re in one of Walkonomics’ routed cities, give the app a try and see if your mood will rise.