Quote:
Originally Posted by ATXboom
Those are really difficult statistics to accurately come by. I wouldn't expect much...
IMO the biggest difference between the cores is mixed vs single use. Austin just has a much higher proportion of mixed use distributed across the core. This is what drives more lively street life. That includes the park system in the core which activates thousands daily. Also significant is that Austin’s core is not surrounded by grid stopping freeways. The bones are better for true urbanity.
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That makes sense. I've always loved the fact that it's not encircled by freeways like Dallas or Houston - or San Antonio, for that matter. Fort Worth is interesting in that is has freeways on three sides, and while the Trinity River creates a fourth boundary, it's crossing over with proposed/planned developments. It'll be interesting to see how that develops.
Back to Austin - I agree also on the mixed-use aspect. It'll be fun to see more of that pop up. When my wife and I were downtown recently for a date, we were surprised to see how much has gone in at street level in the past 10+ years. While I've come back for work a few times, it was her first time down there in years.