Trying to promote inner-city redevelopment and controlling where the sprawl goes, all the while developing alternative means of transportation, seems only reasonable. But one friend, bitter about the way the inner city is being completely reconfigured, queried as to just what was so bad about suburban sprawl. Sometimes it seems as though the problem is insurmountable, that we've lost Austin in the midst of this new city springing up. Usually, my feelings about this change when I go visit anyplace else. Sprawl seems a national disease, and leaving Austin always reminds me of the city's charms.
Cities can manage their destiny.
Although Austin has yet to get a handle on this kind of visionary planning, communities like San Diego and Portland, Ore., have. What is needed is visionary political leadership, community will, and an understanding that growth is inevitable. The idea is to not stop growth or promote it, but to try to control it so it doesn't overwhelm the city. Since neighborhoods are crucial to this kind of planning, Clark-Madison also profiles Austin's new neighborhood services office. The Lady Eve at the Texas Union Theater on Tuesday, January 18, 7pm.