This week, we spend time on the hype (and the pitfalls) of those endless “top ten cities for ...” lists. They’re catchy, shareable, and often the first thing people see when they think about moving or traveling. But do they actually tell us much about what it’s like to live car-lite or car-free in American cities?

So, instead of telling you our top ten cities to move to, we came up with a different list: five practical protocols to quickly gauge walkability when visiting a new city.

Timeline:

00:00 Why “walkable city” lists are everywhere.

02:00 Columbus named #4 most walkable to visit?!

04:00 Why lists are misleading for people considering a move.

05:00 How I travel: living like a local for 24–48 hours.

06:00 The walk-everywhere test.

06:30 Ads and billboards as local cultural signals.

09:00 Game-day infrastructure and movement patterns.

12:30 Stadium design.

13:00 Travel in both the best and worst seasons.

15:40 Hotel districts vs. neighborhoods.

19:00 The mid-block crosswalk litmus test.

22:00 Culture of drivers in Portland, Minneapolis, Vancouver.

24:00 Why a higher-floor matters.

25:00 Bonus: the airport-to-city connection.

26:30 Wrapping up.