Why Philadelphia remains America’s most walkable city to visit
Writer: Melis Turku Topa
August 2025 — Philadelphia continues to lead the nation in walkability, recently ranking the No. 1 most walkable city to visit for the third year in a row by the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.
National trends highlight why this matters: walkable urban areas generate 19% of the U.S. GDP while occupying only 1.2% of metropolitan land, according to the latest report of Smart Growth America. Homes in these areas sell at a 34% premium with rental and commercial space commanding about 47% more. Philadelphia’s Center City, with its compact grid of offices, residential towers, cultural venues, and retail corridors, is a prime example of how density drives both economic output and quality of life.
“One of Philadelphia’s advantages, and a competitive one, is walkability, especially downtown. We were just named, for the third year in a row, the most walkable city in America,” Prema Katari Gupta, president and CEO of Center City District, told Invest:.
Downtown Philadelphia has one of the highest residential densities among major U.S. cities, with more than 200,000 residents living within a few square miles. Coupled with the largest downtown job center in the region and a transit system that carries nearly 800,000 daily riders according to SEPTA, the city’s compact design allows people to live, work, and play without relying on a car. Recent pedestrian counts by Center City District show foot traffic in core retail corridors has rebounded to over 90% of pre‑pandemic levels.
Gupta highlighted how much of Center City’s success stems from the clustering of daily necessities in a tight footprint — a layout that naturally encourages walking and sustains a vibrant street life.
“Our dense, mixed‑use downtown concentrates residential high‑rises, office towers, restaurants, shops, cultural venues, and services in a small footprint, so that most daily needs can be met within walking distance. Transit brings commuting workers and visitors into the walkable core. Active street life comes from ground‑floor retail, restaurants, and businesses that keep sidewalks populated and interesting.
Philadelphia has also piloted programs that reimagine streets as public spaces, boosting both pedestrian activity and economic vibrancy. As Gupta highlighted: “Center City District’s on‑street teams work hard to provide supplemental cleaning, public safety, homeless outreach, and hospitality services with the goal of making the sidewalks comfortable and inviting for all.”
The Open Streets Walnut initiative — closing Walnut Street to cars on select Sundays — has exceeded expectations.
“We’ve been experimenting with Walnut Street, our main retail corridor, closing it to automobiles on select Sundays through Open Streets Walnut. We just ran the same car‑free experiment in Midtown Village,” Gupta said. “The thesis is that people walking are more likely to spend money at restaurants and retailers than people driving through. We want to treat the street as an extension of public space and create more room for interaction.”
This approach reflects a larger shift in how American downtowns are being designed. Gupta added that while U.S. tourists value walkable environments in Latin America and Europe, similar experiences are still rare at home. Philadelphia, she said, is working to change that.
City officials echo this vision. Karen Fegely, acting commerce director for the City of Philadelphia, emphasized in her interview with Invest: that the city’s scale and diversity underpin its walkability and economic vitality.
“Philadelphia is located at the heart of the U.S. Northeast Corridor with a competitive real estate market, vibrant business districts, exceptional cuisines, and growing innovation industries. We are also continuously ranked high in the U.S for walkability and bikeability,” Fegely noted.
This mix of connectivity, culture, and livability sets the stage for what she described as the city’s defining urban character: “As the second largest city on the East Coast, we are a city of neighborhoods with diverse business locations, world-class cultural assets, industrial parks, and emerging development areas like the Navy Yard,” she added.
Even with these strengths, maintaining a walkable downtown requires constant investment. Safety, cleanliness, and perceptions of comfort, particularly for women and young people, remain top priorities. Gupta emphasized that bridging the gap between how safe downtown feels versus how safe it actually is is critical to sustaining foot traffic.
Center City District responds with on‑street teams that handle supplemental cleaning, hospitality services, and homeless outreach, ensuring sidewalks remain inviting. These efforts are especially important as commuter patterns shift: hybrid work schedules mean fewer people are downtown daily, placing more pressure on residential populations and cultural events to maintain activity levels.
The city is also exploring improved wayfinding systems, drawing inspiration from European cities like Granada, to make the downtown easier to navigate for visitors and locals alike. This push complements the car‑free street initiatives, which not only promote walking but have proven to boost spending at nearby retailers and restaurants.
Philadelphia’s walkability is closely tied to its transit network, particularly the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), which moves workers and visitors into the walkable downtown core. While transit plays a critical role in supporting this ecosystem, the agency is now facing a funding crisis: a $213 million operating deficit that started July 1, leading to service cuts and fare increases.
Budget cuts could have ripple effects: reduced transit access would limit the flow of commuters and visitors into Center City, ultimately undermining the very walkability that fuels Philadelphia’s economic vitality. Addressing these funding gaps — through public and private support — will be important to maintaining accessibility and sustaining downtown activity.
Top image via Ryan Gandolfo/caa
For more information, please visit:
