The City of Austin has been working on a long range blue print for years that it calls “Imagine Austin.” Now, city staffers are extending a deadline until November 14 for you to use this online tool that lets you rank eight city priorities by dragging color blocks from the “idea farm” onto a list.
These are the eight issues you get to prioritize:
- Affordable Housing throughout Austin
- Education and Talented Workforce
- Network of Parks, Trails, Waterways and Natural Areas
- Manage Long-Term Water Resources
- Grow and Invest in Creative Economy
- Improved Transportation for Cars, Transit, Bikes, Walking
- Update City Rules for Land Uses
- Healthy Austin
There’s also an option to add your own priority.
Not everyone is keen on Imagine Austin. Some people worry that it pays short shrift to neighborhoods, others worry about the effect that too much planning could have on the availability of affordable housing.
"When you zone, restrict, set aside high valued land for greenways and introduce all manner of smart growth measures, you raise the cost of housing for everyone by restricting supply and raising construction costs,"
Austin Chronicle reader Max Borders wrote in a story comment. "The rich can afford it. The poor are displaced."
