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  #1021  
Old Posted Apr 26, 2017, 5:05 AM
austlar1 austlar1 is offline
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Austin is really very green and tree covered, but the trees are often not as tall as trees found in many other green cities. It took me a while after moving here to appreciate the fact that Austin has such nice tree cover. Also, since there is so much Live Oak and Cedar, Austin stays at least partly green year round. That is a very nice feature, notwithstanding the allergies that come with the cedar.

Last edited by austlar1; Apr 26, 2017 at 5:17 AM.
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  #1022  
Old Posted Apr 26, 2017, 9:14 AM
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We visited someone we know in Buda about a month ago and went out in their backyard and the live oak canopy back there was incredible. The canopy was a good 35 feet high from the bottom and spanned the whole street. It was beautiful. Our neighborhood has live oaks, but they're not that continuous. Our house and the two others up from us have pretty good canopies, but that one in Buda was really something.
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  #1023  
Old Posted Apr 26, 2017, 10:59 AM
wwmiv wwmiv is offline
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Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas View Post
Surely Atlanta must have more trees than us. I would imagine Charlotte has a ton of them, too.
Been to both regularly over the past three years (live in Columbia and those are the two places with all the shopping and my friends and good gay clubs) and both are comparable to Austin's tree cover, just different types of trees.

Portland, Seattle, Asheville, Knoxville, etc. Those are places with more.
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  #1024  
Old Posted May 22, 2017, 2:51 PM
We vs us We vs us is offline
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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/u...ties.html?_r=0

Interesting little article about "densifying" cities. As the lede says:


"Be skeptical when you hear about the return to glory of the American city — that idealized vision of rising skyscrapers and bustling, dense downtowns. Contrary to perception, the nation is continuing to become more suburban, and at an accelerating pace. The prevailing pattern is growing out, not up, although with notable exceptions."

and

"Seattle urbanized the most: Faster growth in the city’s neighborhoods meant that average neighborhood density was 3 percent higher in 2016 than in 2010. Among the sprawling majority, San Antonio and Austin spread out the most: In both cities, average neighborhood density fell by 5 percent between 2010 and 2016. All of the metro areas where density fell the most were in the Sun Belt, including Las Vegas, Houston, Dallas and Orlando. These sprawling metro areas are also showing faster overall growth than the urbanizing metro areas."


So even with our downtown going verticle by leaps and bounds, we're still spreading out at one of the fastest rates in the country. Kind of a bummer, honestly.
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  #1025  
Old Posted May 22, 2017, 3:15 PM
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jbssfelix jbssfelix is offline
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Adding density to 4 square miles of downtown isn't nearly enough to make a dent in the thousands of people that move here each day. Adding, or at least allowing, density throughout the central core (183/35/290/MoPac) would at least make a significant dent, but unfortunately our council and neighborhoods are mostly in staunch opposition to this idea.

Quote:
Originally Posted by We vs us View Post
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/u...ties.html?_r=0

Interesting little article about "densifying" cities. As the lede says:


"Be skeptical when you hear about the return to glory of the American city — that idealized vision of rising skyscrapers and bustling, dense downtowns. Contrary to perception, the nation is continuing to become more suburban, and at an accelerating pace. The prevailing pattern is growing out, not up, although with notable exceptions."

and

"Seattle urbanized the most: Faster growth in the city’s neighborhoods meant that average neighborhood density was 3 percent higher in 2016 than in 2010. Among the sprawling majority, San Antonio and Austin spread out the most: In both cities, average neighborhood density fell by 5 percent between 2010 and 2016. All of the metro areas where density fell the most were in the Sun Belt, including Las Vegas, Houston, Dallas and Orlando. These sprawling metro areas are also showing faster overall growth than the urbanizing metro areas."


So even with our downtown going verticle by leaps and bounds, we're still spreading out at one of the fastest rates in the country. Kind of a bummer, honestly.
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  #1026  
Old Posted May 22, 2017, 3:47 PM
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Originally Posted by jbssfelix View Post
Adding density to 4 square miles of downtown isn't nearly enough to make a dent in the thousands of people that move here each day. Adding, or at least allowing, density throughout the central core (183/35/290/MoPac) would at least make a significant dent, but unfortunately our council and neighborhoods are mostly in staunch opposition to this idea.
This was one of my first reactions, too . . . that is, our growth rate would be impossible to deal with even if we didn't have as convoluted a zoning system, and NIMBYists around every corner (and on the council).

Just quoting that doesn't tell the whole story, IMHO.
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  #1027  
Old Posted Jun 17, 2017, 12:35 PM
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So, with Amazon buying Whole Foods and all, what does that mean for the main Whole Foods in downtown? I know that this could radically change things.
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  #1028  
Old Posted Jun 17, 2017, 12:37 PM
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So, with Amazon buying Whole Foods and all, what does that mean for the main Whole Foods in downtown? I know that this could radically change things.
There will be no changes in the near to mid term apparently. But who knows what happens in 5-10 years?
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  #1029  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2017, 7:14 AM
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Interesting article on solar panel requirements:

http://kxan.com/2017/06/16/new-solar...uilding-costs/
Quote:
Austin is now the third city in the state to require this solar-ready construction, joining Houston and Lewisville. That said, Austin is the first city in the state with multi-family and commercial construction requirements.
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  #1030  
Old Posted Jun 18, 2017, 7:16 AM
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Originally Posted by The ATX View Post
There will be no changes in the near to mid term apparently. But who knows what happens in 5-10 years?
Yeah, I'm also secretly (not so secretly) hoping that the surface parking lot goes away. Even if it's replaced by a park/plaza with food trucks I'd call that a win, haha.
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  #1031  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2017, 1:20 AM
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Yeah, I'm also secretly (not so secretly) hoping that the surface parking lot goes away. Even if it's replaced by a park/plaza with food trucks I'd call that a win, haha.
which surface lot are you referring to??
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  #1032  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2017, 9:04 AM
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which surface lot are you referring to??
In front of Whole Foods, facing Lamar. I wish it were a plaza or something. Food trucks would be nice, or smaller permanent restaurants/cafes, etc. Though I know the parking at Whole Foods above and below ground is pretty much always full, I have never been a fan of the surface lot there. For that matter, I don't much care for the one south of there (across 5th) either...but you can't win 'em all.
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  #1033  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2017, 9:18 AM
wwmiv wwmiv is offline
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Originally Posted by drummer View Post
In front of Whole Foods, facing Lamar. I wish it were a plaza or something. Food trucks would be nice, or smaller permanent restaurants/cafes, etc. Though I know the parking at Whole Foods above and below ground is pretty much always full, I have never been a fan of the surface lot there. For that matter, I don't much care for the one south of there (across 5th) either...but you can't win 'em all.
I agree. There should NOT be surface parking lots downtown, period.
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  #1034  
Old Posted Jun 27, 2017, 3:06 AM
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Yeah, I so wish that surface lot wasn't part of the actual structure. That entire building is friggin awful come to think of it. Shoal creek walk helps that block of downtown out a lot.
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  #1035  
Old Posted Jun 27, 2017, 6:42 AM
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Originally Posted by ahealy View Post
Yeah, I so wish that surface lot wasn't part of the actual structure. That entire building is friggin awful come to think of it. Shoal creek walk helps that block of downtown out a lot.
I was trying to remember, so you could probably help me out. Does the parking garage underneath extend under the surface lot or just under the building itself?
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  #1036  
Old Posted Jun 28, 2017, 10:40 PM
JoninATX JoninATX is offline
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There's been a lot of backlash at a bar on Rainey St. From reading people's review I do hope this owner goes out of business. We will not support hate in Austin!

http://www.austin360.com/places/bar-...I785Z7dgswoZL/
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  #1037  
Old Posted Jun 28, 2017, 10:59 PM
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Originally Posted by JoninATX View Post
There's been a lot of backlash at a bar on Rainey St. From reading people's review I do hope this owner goes out of business. We will not support hate in Austin!

http://www.austin360.com/places/bar-...I785Z7dgswoZL/
That almost seems too bad to be true. If it is true, then it DOES need to go out of business. I can't say what I really think needs to happen...if true...
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  #1038  
Old Posted Jun 28, 2017, 11:43 PM
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Finally an answer as to why this Apartment complex that I see all the time going to work has been stalled.

http://kxan.com/2017/06/02/io-at-tec...-amid-lawsuit/
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  #1039  
Old Posted Jun 28, 2017, 11:49 PM
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A swastika and other things mentioned have no place in Western culture - at all. Sad to hear about that in Austin.

That said, an interesting side note is that the symbol is also prevalent in Tibetan Buddhism and many minority/ethnic cultures in SW China - has absolutely nothing to do with Nazism. Very strange to see it everywhere in my city, but it has nothing to do with what it stands for in the West. A good of mine here who is in his 40s has the symbol prominently tattooed on his arm, though he doesn't associate it with any of that crap.
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  #1040  
Old Posted Jun 29, 2017, 2:46 AM
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corvairkeith corvairkeith is offline
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Yeah the Nazis have forever ruined the swastika as well as the Charlie Chaplin mustache both predate Hitler but will forever be associated with him.
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