Americans increasingly want to live in walkable cities
According to the National Association of Realtors, 62 percent of millennials prefer living in walkable communities that have short commutes, even if this means living in townhouses or apartments. Meanwhile, members of Gen-X and the baby boomers still prefer living in houses in suburban areas and relying on a car to get around. Even accounting for this generational split, more than half of Americans would rather live in areas where houses have smaller yards but are within walking distance of community amenities. . .
For each step up the five-tiered walkability scale developed by the researchers, a store was likely to boost its sales by nearly 80 percent, thanks to increased foot traffic. They found that these increased sales occurred because, while walkers and transit users spend less per visit to local businesses than drivers do, they make more visits. Rental rates for apartments, office space and storefronts were higher as well.