- Cities
- United Kingdom
- Birmingham
How walkable is Birmingham?
Birmingham has a walkability score of 99 out of 100 around its centre, which makes it a Walker's Paradise, where daily errands do not require a car. It is the 2nd most walkable of 2 cities ranked in the United Kingdom.
What's within walking distance
2,801 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of central Birmingham. The nearest grocery is Budgens Budgens of Kent Street, about a minute away on foot. Every category earns full or nearly full points.
- Budgens Budgens of Kent Street70 m · 1 min
- Costcutter180 m · 2 min
- Tesco Express350 m · 4 min
- Ulysses Restaurant40 m · 1 min
- Deep Caribbean Experience80 m · 1 min
- Savanna Restaurant & Cocktail Bar90 m · 1 min
- The Diskery Birmingham90 m · 1 min
- Dancique100 m · 1 min
- Racketline120 m · 1 min
- Quarter Horse Coffee140 m · 2 min
- Costa Coffee310 m · 4 min
- Cloud330 m · 4 min
- Bank of China220 m · 3 min
- Citifinancial550 m · 7 min
- Birmingham Bank680 m · 9 min
- St. Thomas' Peace Garden510 m · 6 min
- Moonlit Park570 m · 7 min
- Unnamed park600 m · 7 min
- St Catherine of Siena Catholic Primary School150 m · 2 min
- St Thomas C of E Primary School330 m · 4 min
- The Language Gallery400 m · 5 min
- Peters Ltd180 m · 2 min
- Peters Bookselling Service200 m · 2 min
- Amsterdam Experience360 m · 5 min
- O2 Academy Birmingham100 m · 1 min
- Dancexchange Dancing Schools290 m · 4 min
- Hipadrome Theartee310 m · 4 min
Measured from the representative point at 52.4724, -1.8998. Walking times assume 80 m per minute along an estimated street route.
Street layout
Within 800 m of the representative point there are about 174 street intersections per km², and blocks average 72 m long. That is a well-connected street grid, so the score is not reduced.
Walkability around the centre
Scores at seven points within 1 km of the centre range from 91 to 100, and Birmingham's score of 99 is their median. Walkability is consistent across the centre.
| Point | Score | Map |
|---|---|---|
| City centre | 100 | Map |
| 1 km north | 97 | Map |
| 1 km east-northeast | 99 | Map |
| 1 km east-southeast | 91 | Map |
| 1 km south | 99 | Map |
| 1 km west-southwest | 99 | Map |
| 1 km west-northwest | 99 | Map |
Nearby cities
| City | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| London, United Kingdom | 163 km | 100 |
| Dublin, Ireland | 307 km | 99 |
| Brussels, Belgium | 468 km | 100 |
| Paris, France | 503 km | 100 |
| Köln, Germany | 634 km | 99 |
Questions about walking in Birmingham
Is Birmingham a walkable city?
Yes. Central Birmingham has a walkability score of 99 out of 100, which makes it a Walker's Paradise, where daily errands do not require a car. It ranks 2nd of 2 cities in the United Kingdom and 35th of 252 worldwide on How Walkable.
What is the most walkable city in the United Kingdom?
London is the most walkable of the 2 cities ranked in the United Kingdom, with a score of 100. Birmingham ranks 2nd with 99.
How does Birmingham compare with nearby cities?
Birmingham is at most as walkable as its nearest ranked neighbours: Birmingham scores 99, against London (100, 163 km away), Dublin (99, 307 km away) and Brussels (100, 468 km away).
How is Birmingham's walkability score calculated?
The score counts groceries, restaurants, shops, cafés, banks, parks, schools, libraries and cultural venues within a 30 minute walk, gives nearer places more weight, and deducts up to 20% where streets are sparse or blocks are long. For Birmingham it is the median of seven points within 1 km of the city centre, using open map data from Overture Maps and OpenStreetMap.
Scores follow a published walkability method, explained in the methodology. City position and population from GeoNames.