Getting Buy-In On A New Urbanist Vision

Alamo Heights, a suburb of San Antonio, grapples with whether to adopt a "New Urbanist" (but slightly more traditional) approach to its major thoroughfare to improve pedestrian and bicycle access.

1 minute read

May 29, 2009, 6:00 AM PDT

By Larry Schooler


"For the past nine months, the city has been asking residents and business owners to imagine everything they ever wanted the city to be. The result was a comprehensive plan envisioning an environmentally aware, pedestrian-friendly village where people can shop, work and go to school by walking, bicycling or a taking a short trolley ride.

Now as residents turn up their air conditioners and start circling parking lots to minimize walking, the city is going to find out how many of those ideals can be achieved. On Tuesday night, the City Council voted to adopt the plan as a 15-year guiding document.

'We think it's asinine,' said Jimmy Satel, a part owner of the men's clothing store Satel's. 'They want to make this where families can walk and bicycle down here. That's wonderful, but it's not great for retail.'"

Thursday, May 28, 2009 in San Antonio Express-News

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

Passengers board an Amtrak train under a cloudy sky.

Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement

The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.

September 18, 2026 - Mass Transit

The Gross Reservoir, a large body of water surrounded by trees and mountains.

Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion

Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.

September 18, 2026 - Inside Climate News

A coal power plant in Iowa billows smoke into the air.

Nation's most wind-powered state turns to coal as data centers increase energy demand

For the first time in decades, Iowa has increased its generation of coal power.

September 17, 2026 - Inside Climate News

A crowd of people boarding Boston's green line in an underground subway station.

Boston has spent millions making the Green Line more accessible — and there’s no end in sight

While the city has invested millions into expanding and adding platforms to the Green Line to make it more accessible, new train cars set to arrive next year will be too tall for disabled passengers to board without raising the current platforms.

September 22 - Boston Globe

Railroad tracks in Idaho passing a home by a river.

Idaho may see an 18% drop in federal surface transit funding — the largest estimated cut in the US

Transit systems in rural communities are much more reliant on federal funding to provide their services.

September 22 - Grist

A Florida family with their belongings in a wagon walks past a destroyed storm after a hurricane.

How ‘post-disaster gentrification’ alters neighborhoods after natural calamities

After hurricanes, fires or other calamities, the original residents of a community are often replaced by younger, wealthier residents.

September 22 - Inside Climate News