It's obvious to us that if a wise being from a distant galaxy ever landed on the planet, Los Angeles would be stop one during their terrestrial tour.
Do we even need to list the obvious reasons? JPL's here. So's Griffith Observatory. So's Endeavour (something the being surely saw buzzing about). And just about every B film with flying saucers once employed some scrubby Hollywood backlot as a not-too-convincing-but-very-charming setting.
And the first thing the wise being would notice? A lot of denizens actually do walk in LA. In fact, April 3 is National Walking Day, but, more and more, that's getting to be every day around here.
We realize this goes against popular wisdom, that we're not solely a car culture, and it contradicts the Missing Persons song, too.
But look at this: Southern California boasts several neighborhoods with rather impressive WalkScore rankings. Rankings that could go up against areas of San Francisco and New York City and other towns famous for foot traffic.
Downtown is one. Koreatown is one. And Mid-City, around West Third and Fairfax? That's on there, too. Where does your neighborhood rank?
Overall Los Angeles is ranked a 66 or "Somewhat Walkable." We can go with that.
The Scene
Want to find new things to do in Los Angeles? The Scene's lifestyle stories have you covered. Here's your go-to source on where the fun is across SoCal and for the weekend.
So, where are you walking, if not to the store for a pint of milk? You can hop on an actual walking tour with LA Conservancy or Downtown LA Walks or Angels Walk LA. You can also follow Los Angeles Walks for all issues pertaining to our region's on-foot identity.
With all that in mind, do you feel good about some future outer-space visitor thinking we just might be a metropolis that actually embraces walking? That's part of our identity, more and more, along with being a cycling and Metro city, too. And, given the LA River love, perhaps even a boating city now and then.
