With the completion of the runoffs, Austin's next City Council is set. Although it falls short of the densificatron the Austin Chronicle mused about, it is being widely hailed as the most urbanist-friendly council in recent memory. How did we get here? Well, I'd like to believe it's because the world is coming to understand that building awesome, compact cities is the only ...
Activism
YIMBY is not left or right but both and neither
The YIMBY moment hasn't exactly arrived in America but it's on the platform and the train is coming. The framework for political arguments in many City Halls has transformed from "Neighborhood vs Developer" to "YIMBY vs NIMBY." State Houses like California are being shaken up by YIMBY legislation, both passed and proposed. The movement's growth has created a scramble to ...
Contest: What’s your Congress Ave like?
We have a contest for you! With prizes including a $25 gift certificate generously donated by Pop Bar, offering ice cream bars at 247 W 3rd Street downtown starting Friday January 26th. Read to the bottom for details on how to enter! One of the great forces in shaping Downtown Austin is its capitol view corridors. As we speak, downtown Austin is being made over in their ...
YIMBY and Placemaking are the perfect pair
People get involved in shaping cities for different reasons. Some because they ride bikes or take trains, some because of a professional interest, and some because the rent is too damn high. As rents, land use, public space, and transportation are deeply interrelated, people who are interested in one often bleed over into another. But people talk about cities in very different ...
Austin’s Killer App: How Austin Tech Can Compete with Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is the most important center of US technology development. Its cluster of tech workers, financiers, and services are light years ahead. There was no special natural resource that made Silicon Valley the only place for a tech boom, but once it got started, Silicon Valley built a strong First Mover Advantage--any place that wants to compete has to not only ...
