(Community Matters) Internationally award winning-architect, professor Juan Miró on the balance between Austin as a Landscape City and a Compact City – AAS guest column
excerpts: there are two ways to think about the city, two fundamentally different models that must be understood as we plan the future growth of Austin: the Landscape City and the Compact City. . . . The Landscape City is the dominant model in America: open, with low density and the majority of people living in single-family houses. . . . Austin always has been and still is fundamentally a Landscape City, a low density city of single-family houses in a forest. As the city grew, former “suburbs” like Hyde Park or Travis Heights became the “city core.” Austin is a particularly successful Landscape City. In fact, the overall beautiful integration in its natural landscape has been an important attraction for people moving here. . . .
the Compact City model emphasizes high density and multi-family housing. It is the prevalent model in Europe, where cities were walled off for defense purposes, sometimes well into the 19th century. These cities grew dense out of necessity. The Compact City model relies on mass transit and pedestrian-oriented buildings with vibrant street life. . . .
Great cities don’t give up on the ambitions and aspirations that define their identity. In Austin, we need to send an ambitious message to our City Council: We want both models.
First, we must preserve and continue to create the best Landscape City possible, adjusting this model of development as necessary so it can sustain the balance between nature and human habitation.
Second, we must commit to creating a viable alternative, a diverse and affordable Compact City that thrives, not only in the central core, but also in nodes across the city and the transit corridors that connect them.
Juan is a founder of Miró Rivera Architects. He, his wife, Rosa, and his founding partner Miguel Rivera are very dear friends
Community Matters 