A Downtown Maturing (Houston, Dallas, Austin: theatre, college, living in)

[passionatearts]

Originally Posted by riaelise

I am used to the conveniences and everything of Manhattan and DT Austin doesn't really scratch the surface. I know that it is not a fair comparison, but let's be frank -- it's where I am from so I can't help but compare. My chief beefs with downtown are the lack of shopping and drug store options. It really isn't walkable...I could easily walk from 59th Street to 70th Street and be back in under an hour. I can't get from 1st Congress/6th Street by Hut's for example in an hour. Parking is abysmal yet public transportation isn't really all that good. The dillo was a good idea - why it was eliminated beats the heck out of me. Manhattan is uber pricey but just about every income level can find something to do/buy there. H&M for clothes, for example. Manhattan has a lot of commuters who can appreciate moderately priced clothing stores. DT Austin seems to want to cater to those who live there, and honestly it's the little worker bees who do the most casual spending. I often would drop 300 bucks at H&M. The boutiques du jour have high turnover for a reason. Same with dining options, IMO. Yeah, it's not crawling with chains but at the same time there's something lacking. Also, there just isn't really much to do on the lunch hour -- I work downtown on first street, and besides just going to some restaurant, there's really nothing to do. In Manhattan, I could go to a nearby bookstore, clothing store, park, etc. The music scene is ok, but that can get kind of old after awhile. At the same time, I've never watched a downtown 'mature' (I've always had one in place)..so it is pretty fascinating.

You pretty much summarized my problems with Downtown. Granted, Downtown is getting better and is fun to head to for a concert or a restaurant, but I fail to see how Downtown is "liveable" and "walkable" if you want everyday basic amenities.

[homeinatx]

Originally Posted by passionatearts

You pretty much summarized my problems with Downtown. Granted, Downtown is getting better and is fun to head to for a concert or a restaurant, but I fail to see how Downtown is "liveable" and "walkable" if you want everyday basic amenities.

I live there, and while there could be more, the only everyday thing I lack within an under 15 minute walk from my apartment is a hardware store, which is not something I need everyday. I buy nearly all our food from the Sunday farmer's market - less than a 5 minute walk. (I like to cook and eat seasonally, fresh and ethically whenever I can. If I did not live in close proximity, I would be driving there every weekend anyway) If I need something else, Whole Foods is about a ten minute walk away, and a Royal Blue within a 2 minute walk for sundries, toiletries etc, and the horrible CVS on 5th and Congress. 3 laundry/dry-cleaners within a 5-10 minute walk. Ditto for library, post-office etc.

There is a perfectly adequate gym/fitness center in the building - a great yoga studio a ten minute walk away, ditto for the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail. I can bike to work in around 10 minutes - walk it in 25 or so, and the bus, on days when the weather is bad or I am feeling lazy, takes 15 minutes.. The Violet Crown for movies is a five minute walk away. There are at least 50 bars, restaurants, clubs, live music venues, art galleries, performance venues within a ten minute walk, and more than a hundred within a twenty minute walk, if I want to go out.

I do not need a car at all for my "everyday basic amenities." I don't have children, and not everyone has the same "everyday basic amenities," but for my life, downtown is more "liveable" and "walkable" than anywhere else in the Austin MSA, and probably in the state of Texas. YMMV.

[verybadgnome]

According to walkscore.com downtown Austin scored a 89 which puts it in the " very walkable" category. NYC as a whole (maybe not a fair comparison in some ways) scored an 85.3, but had 70 neighborhoods with a score of 90 or above.

Funny when you type in 78701 you get a slightly smaller geographic area and the score goes up to 92, or "walker's paradise."

[eepstein]

Downtown Austin walkable? Well I guess that would be true if there was anything interesting to do. I guess you could go get drunk on 6th street with your college buddies, or head over and hang with the rich people on the 2nd street. Hmmm, or I guess you could run by the capitol and learn all about the great state of Texas!!

Originally Posted by verybadgnome

According to walkscore.com downtown Austin scored a 89 which puts it in the " very walkable" category. NYC as a whole (maybe not a fair comparison in some ways) scored an 85.3, but had 70 neighborhoods with a score of 90 or above.

Funny when you type in 78701 you get a slightly smaller geographic area and the score goes up to 92, or "walker's paradise."

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by eepstein

Nearly all development in the 2nd street district is strictly for white, rich people. The city does nothing to encorage NON-WHITE and NON-RICH people from visiting the extremely limited downtown area.

Money knows no color, if you got it, doesn't matter what your race, businesses are happy to take it from you. Your "non-white" people not being encouraged to visit claim is ridiculous. Also, we are not rich and we find things to do down there all the time. Here's a list of affordable fun things to do in Austin and several things are downtown. //www.city-data.com/forum/austi...al-austin.html

[buffettjr]

Originally Posted by eepstein

Nearly all development in the 2nd street district is strictly for white, rich people. The city does nothing to encorage NON-WHITE and NON-RICH people from visiting the extremely limited downtown area.

Hi Eepstein,

Thank you for contributing. Just wanted to bump to point out you accidentally forgot to respond in the other thread about how the city forced people to shut down Christmas lights on their own property because they hate poor people. Did they issue citations to people for having Christmas lights on their own property? I look forward to you clearing this up, so that people don't accidentally think you're lying. Thanks for your help:
//www.city-data.com/forum/21889900-post21.html

[Plutonium]

Originally Posted by eepstein

Nearly all development in the 2nd street district is strictly for white, rich people. The city does nothing to encorage NON-WHITE and NON-RICH people from visiting the extremely limited downtown area.

What sort of things exactly does a place have to do to encourage only white people? I don't get that at all.

[MtnLion512]

Can we stop with the NYC comparisons? Of course Austin's DT can't compare to that. It's no more helpful than me raving about how perfectly wonderful DT Austin is compared to Midland...I guarantee Accusations of "Austin boosterism" would abound

I think some downtowns that are a more realistic comparison or goal to aspire to are Portland, Seattle, and Denver.

One thing I love about Denver's DT, and I suppose Seattle too is pedestrian only districts, like 16th Street Mall or Pike Place Market. I'd love to see something along those lines in DT Austin.

[80SC]

Originally Posted by eepstein

Nearly all development in the 2nd street district is strictly for white, rich people. The city does nothing to encorage NON-WHITE and NON-RICH people from visiting the extremely limited downtown area.

Would you stop it?

There's nothing stopping non-white people from frequenting the establishments on 2nd Street. In fact, outside of Estilo and Design Within Reach (and the temporarily closed Bang & Olufsen), there's nothing on 2nd Street that I'd call remotely upscale or appealing only to "rich people". We're not talking Rodeo Drive here.

Austin doesn't attract many minorities as it is, it has nothing to do with the what the city does or doesn't do.

[msamhunter]

Originally Posted by homeinatx

Not true. The second street district is indeed relatively more expensive to live: rent or buy per square foot, but downtown is racially pretty integrated. Home to a few of Austin's grantedly few hip-hop, drum and bass, blues and salsa clubs. I have not tracked the whole building, but the floor of my condo is about half white. West Lake Hills, the next most expensive price per square foot area is way, way whiter.

I agree that downtown Austin has a way to go, but "extremely limited" is relative. Obviously it is nowhere near as dense or full of amenities as midtown Manhattan or the near north-side of Chicago or even downtown L.A., but downtown Austin punches way above its weight class. There is much, much more going on any night of the week than in downtown Indianapolis, Sacramento, Kansas City, Charlotte, or any equivalent sized MSA, except perhaps Portland or Pittsburgh. And in Texas, there is as much, if not more retail, restaurants, bars, clubs etc happening in downtown Austin as there is in downtown Houston (with the exception of live theater and pro-sports), downtown San Antonio, and while downtown Dallas has a few respectable art museums, it looks pretty pitiful next to Austin in terms of vibrant street life after business hours. Downtown Houston is all excited because they finally have a downtown grocery store - a Phoenicia, a good grocery but hardly the world headquarters of Whole Foods. Austin has 4 downtown grocery stores.

Downtown Austin is a work in progress, but it is way better than it was, and when the Waller Creek and Power Plant developments kick in, it has the potential to be pretty fabulous.

Indianapolis and KC would definitely be false.