Foot experts at the American Podiatric Medical Association have chosen the best and worst walking cities in America.  Their rankings were posted on March 7, 2008.  Ann Arbor made the list!

One of the best benefits of Burns Park and the Old West Side (and a big reason for their popularity) is the proximity to downtown and campus.  Residents can walk to restaurants and entertainment without having to search for parking.  Now the news will be more widely known with this recent announcement.  I think it's great to note that Ann Arbor (with 114,000 people) has the second smallest population, behind Cambridge's 101,000.  The other top 10 are all major urban areas or state capitols, and even Cambridge is just across the river from Boston.

More than 500 U.S. cities were evaluated and ranked on 14 walking criteria, including the percentage of adults who walk to work and the number of parks per square mile.

Here are the 10 best cities for walking:

• Cambridge, Mass.
• New York City
• Ann Arbor, Mich.
• Chicago
• Washington, D.C.
• San Francisco
• Honolulu
• Trenton, N.J.
• Boston
• Cincinnati, Ohio

The 10 worst cities for walking are:

• Oklahoma City, Okla.
• North Las Vegas
• Gadsden, Ala.
• Davenport, Iowa
• Mount Pleasant, S.C.
• Enid, Okla.
• Laredo, Texas
• Springdale, Ark.
• Clarksville, Tenn.
• Lafayette, La.