Austin Master Plan to Transform Municipal Cemeteries

Could it be that places for the dead might be a new source of urban innovation? Austin provides an example of new thinking regarding urban resting places.

2 minute read

March 5, 2015, 5:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Anna Clark undertakes an examination of the land use and design challenges presented by cemeteries and other sites for honoring the dead.

First Clark establishes the challenges:

"As the meeting point between the living and the dead, cemeteries are peculiarly fraught ground. That makes them easy for cities to ignore. Crime, environmental problems, historic preservation, social class, religious traditions, and the thorny legacy of who is included in cities, and who is not, all come crashing together in urban cemeteries. It’s a toxic tangle of priorities that often contradict each other, and when the cemeteries are on public land, they are an endless drain on city budgets. If no descendants are around anymore to care, if eroded grave markers make it hard to even tell who is buried where, is there any harm in letting nature run its course?"

In Austin, Texas, however, planners are looking for new ways to negotiate these tricky questions:

"The city is creating its first-ever master plan for five municipal cemeteries, the oldest of which dates to the founding of Texas’ capital city in 1839. The proposed plan — a 542-page behemoth — debuted in January. It details a rehabilitative approach to historic cemeteries: protecting their character through repair of gravestones, relics, and plant life, expanding visitor services, and developing interpretive programming that, in effect, returns cemeteries to their origins as public parks."

Scott notes that the cities of Sacramento, California and New Braunfels, Texas are the only cities in the country with cemetery master plans, so Austin's planners don't exactly have a great deal of precedent to go on in their efforts.

The long article goes into a lot more detail about the design and planning solutions that Austin, and other cities, could potentially devote to their cemeteries. 

Monday, March 2, 2015 in Next City

portrait of professional woman

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 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 Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Haussmann's redesign of Paris in the 1850s through 1870s under Napoleon III.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking

Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

June 30, 2025 - Tom Sanchez

Street with parking protected bike lane and parked cars in downtown Portland, Oregon.

Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance

The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.

July 8 - Willamette Week

Aerial view of Spokane, Washington with river in foreground.

Spokane Mayor Introduces Housing Reforms Package

Mayor Lisa Brown’s proposals include deferring or waiving some development fees to encourage more affordable housing development.

July 8 - The Spokesman-Review

Close-up on black and white "Bike Lane Ends" sign with bike logo.

Houston Mayor Kills Another Bike Lane

The mayor rejected a proposed bike lane in the Montrose district in keeping with his pledge to maintain car lanes.

July 8 - Houston Public Media

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA