Inman

Wanted: walkable apartments

Rental listings search site MyNewPlace and Walk Score have teamed up to offer a free embeddable search widget.

A widget is a software module that can be posted to a personalized Web page. The Walk Score widget allows users to look for home apartment rentals that are walkable according to the site’s measurements.

A Walk Score depends on the density of a neighborhood, whether it has a center, whether it is mixed income and mixed use, whether it has nearby schools and workplaces, whether it has public spaces such as parks, and whether the streets are pedestrian-friendly.

"The easiest way to save money on transportation and lower your environmental impact is to move to a more walkable neighborhood, and that is attractive to many renters," said Mike Mathieu, founder of Front Seat, makers of Walk Score.

The widget makes prospective clients more informed about where they want to live and why they want to live there, increasing the likelihood of turning a prospect into a resident, the companies said in a statement.

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