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  #41  
Old Posted Sep 25, 2010, 2:54 PM
arhavel arhavel is offline
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There's nothing particularly urban, hip or vibrant about a bunch of glass skyscrapers along a freeway (see Houston)...The best neighborhoods in New York, San Fran, and even Dallas and Houston are all dense, low-rise areas.
I completely agree. I'll take Greenwich Village over Midtown East anytime. And I think when you mention neighborhoods along Fredericksburg Road, the difference is that these places have genuine history that you can see as you drive or walk past them. Trying to revitalize the Deco District into a hip area has largely failed, but I think its only a matter of time as more people are inspired by its subtle charm.

We could have developers build high rises along 410, or 1604, or even downtown--they could have cafes and restaurants on the bottom, parking garages underground. You could walk from retail experience to retail experience; but would you really be living the hip life? To me, these "developed" areas are hallow, devoid of history, and manufacturing experience. We have so many cultural roots in and around our downtown area, and places just begging to be adaptively reused and utilized in areas like River North, around SouthTown, and South Flores. The Broadway Corridor.

We have the possibility with developments in these areas to create communities that change social dynamics--and I don't mean just the integration of low and high-income populations. I mean a revitalization of public space for socialization--the way San Antonio was first built by the Spanish (we can still see the remnants of their European inspirations).

This is a long-winded reply (to a pro-skyscraper post, at that), but what I am trying to say is that the built environment, if we accept it at face value, has a profound effect on socialization and the way we live. It's through community involvement and socialization that we have the power to change the way we experience space. As Paul and Percival Goodman explained, we could develop communities that unite us deeply, or we could continue "to develop cities of efficient consumption." - Communitas.
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  #42  
Old Posted Sep 25, 2010, 4:00 PM
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Originally Posted by arhavel View Post

We could have developers build high rises along 410, or 1604, or even downtown--they could have cafes and restaurants on the bottom, parking garages underground. You could walk from retail experience to retail experience; but would you really be living the hip life? To me, these "developed" areas are hallow, devoid of history, and manufacturing experience. We have so many cultural roots in and around our downtown area, and places just begging to be adaptively reused and utilized in areas like River North, around SouthTown, and South Flores. The Broadway Corridor.
River North and Southtown are two areas I think could have a hip and modern edge in the coming years.
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  #43  
Old Posted Sep 26, 2010, 1:56 AM
Big A Big A is offline
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Originally Posted by Boquillas View Post
There's nothing particularly urban, hip or vibrant about a bunch of glass skyscrapers along a freeway (see Houston). And "cosmopolitan" isn't a term I would use to describe buildings. The best neighborhoods in New York, San Fran, and even Dallas and Houston are all dense, low-rise areas. I can't see that area of town (and I live very close) ever turning into anything interesting at street-level. There's nothing but apartment complexes and mid-rise office parks there, and adding more of the same won't do much for the area. Now on the other side of the interchange, along Fredericksburg Road and in my neighborhood of Dellview between I-10 and Vance Jackson there's a better potential for something cosmopolitan and/or hip, though high-rises are doubtful.
The buildings are just one part of what I'm talking about. SA does not have a glitzy, hip, cosmopolitan area for locals. I mean an area with a good concentration of fine dining, great shopping, vibrant club scene where young professionals hang out. Talking about an area where restaurants stay open late that aren't named IHOP or Taco Cabana. I'm talking about where there are modern mid to high rise condos. I'm talking about where you can count on seeing celebrities that come to town. The river walk is nice but it gets old pretty quick to people that come to town. Those buildings in the picture are midrises in my opinion. The Galleria area in Houston is an example of an area i'm talking about. I'm not talking about history or trying to make something old into something new. Just one glitzy area with modern mid to high rises that has a lot of life and things to do with theaters for performing arts and concerts,comedy acts etc.
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  #44  
Old Posted Sep 26, 2010, 4:41 AM
adtobias adtobias is offline
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The Galleria are you kidding.
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  #45  
Old Posted Sep 26, 2010, 2:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Boquillas View Post
There's nothing particularly urban, hip or vibrant about a bunch of glass skyscrapers along a freeway (see Houston). And "cosmopolitan" isn't a term I would use to describe buildings. The best neighborhoods in New York, San Fran, and even Dallas and Houston are all dense, low-rise areas. I can't see that area of town (and I live very close) ever turning into anything interesting at street-level. There's nothing but apartment complexes and mid-rise office parks there, and adding more of the same won't do much for the area. Now on the other side of the interchange, along Fredericksburg Road and in my neighborhood of Dellview between I-10 and Vance Jackson there's a better potential for something cosmopolitan and/or hip, though high-rises are doubtful.
You're right, height has nothing to do with what is going on at street level. DC has 6 structures over 200 feet (yes... 200 ft,) 5 ft shorter than the Emily Morgan (we have at least 25 over 200); and only one is a commercial building. The others include 2 churches, the Washington Monument, Capitol Building, and the Old Post Office. Using the height rationale, you wouldn't expect much at street level, yet DC is full of unique neighborhoods(not just by name); Dupont Circle, Georgetown, Adams Morgan, etc.
It is possible (though doubtful) for the Fred/Callaghan quadrant to resemble an urban center. In metro DC, they are redesigning Tysons Corner to be just that. Right now it is just an office park (although a unique one at that,) and with the addition of a Metro stop, they are going to redesign it to include a grid-like pattern for traffic by 2050. It'll be interesting to see the transformation, it's being used as a model for redesigning suburban office parks/edge cities into core city centers. It could be modern and vibrant, although being "hip" is left up to the residents and what happens in day-to-day life on the street.
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  #46  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2010, 10:58 PM
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Originally Posted by maxus View Post
IH10/410

[IMG][/IMG]
Wow!! this looks awesome
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  #47  
Old Posted Nov 4, 2010, 5:18 PM
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Originally Posted by arturo_pro View Post
Wow!! this looks awesome
if only!! !
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