Posted Jan 23, 2009, 9:59 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 333
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San Antonio as well as most of Texas is developer driven as well as sprawl. We have sprawl because there is land out the yenyang. It would be nice if San Antonio had stricter development codes, but in that situation you would have to wonder how it would affect the growth of the city.
The problem SA faces is that it has already been decentralized since the bulk of the corporate presence is spread around the north side of town, instead of downtown. As long as most businesses move or expand by building away from downtown, that is were mixed use developments are going to go.
I don't think that the city will ever stop the momentum of the sprawl. Some (most) people want to live the suburban life, that will not change. The best thing that the City can do to preserve the core is to do its best in attracting corporate, residential, and retail development in the city's center because there is a demand for it.
If the city center had more/better housing, retail, jobs, etc, then the demand would be that much greater.
Back to the topic, I don't mind suburban sprawl because in our society it is inevitable. I wish that it wasn't as prevelant as it is, but so be it. It is true that Developers build these sprawl developments in the burbs because all of the factors that have been mentioned (money, demand, land, etc), but the main reason is because they can.
The development codes won't change much because the politicians are to afraid of how it will effect the growth of the area.
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