QUANTIFYING URBAN SPRAWL
1. Go to Google Maps.
2. In the search box, choose your own address, OR—you may choose another address
where you have lived. Check with Mr. G about this before you begin.
3. Click on directions where you will get another search box. Make sure your starting point
is your home address. Search for the nearest elementary school.
4. Get directions for walking. NOTE the distance to the nearest tenth of a mile. Write this
down neatly on a data sheet.
5. Repeat steps #3 and #4 for the following locations (where possible, choose the nearest
one to your house):
a. Passaic Valley High School
b. A grocery store
c. A hardware store
d. A post office
e. A pharmacy
f. A restaurant
g. A store that sells clothing or shoes that you might patronize
6. Calculate the average distance—to the nearest tenth of a mile—to these eight (8)
locations. This will be your score for “sprawl” (walkability).
7. Go to www.walkscore.com
8. Type your address (same as in step #2) into the box and hit return.
9. Write your walkscore on your data table.
10. Plot your data point (walkscore and average walking distance) on the class scatter plot.
11. Complete questions 1-7 on the handout.
12. Also complete the following question (call it # 8):
8. What is the relationship between the average walking distances calculated by the class
and the walkscore from the walkscore website? What relationship did you expect
between these values? Try to explain why the relationship met/did not meet your
expectations.