Quote:
Originally Posted by wwmiv
In a way I agree with this. Even with the attempt to create a secondary downtown (Domain v. Buckhead) or with a world-class event (Olympics v. F1), but we also have failed in ways where Atlanta excelled: mass transit.
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Well we have to remember a few things though. MARTA began its train service in 1979 when Atlanta was a metro of 2,284,100 people which is considerably 500,000 or so more than what Austin is today. Give Austin time to get it.
Austin's topography is the main reason it sprawls more like Atlanta than either Dallas or Houston. Austin's development pattern has a lot of 'leap frog' effects and it becomes harder to build high density on the hills. The reason I bring this up is because Austin's got the same form of development as Atlanta, which is now the least dense major urban area in the world and Boston (another city with similar constraints) follows up on that. Austin in contrast is the least dense major urban area in our state, its behind Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, El Paso, and San Antonio.
Austin's future:
