Preserving open space in communities is often a balancing act between maximizing developable land and creating value – both monetary and intangible – for all parties involved. Urban Land Magazine explored this dichotomy in a recent article featuring interviews with five community development experts – including RVi President Chris Crawford. The article explored trends in... Read Full Post ›
Jim Rodgers is the quintessential parks man. He has spent nearly 40 years working for parks departments throughout Central Texas, including the Cities of Austin and Cedar Park. He also served as the first-ever Parks Director for Williamson County, helping build the department from the ground-up. This month we sat down with Jim to talk... Read Full Post ›
Two years ago, on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend — September 4, 2011 — the most destructive fire in Texas history broke out in Bastrop County, 30 miles east of Austin. The fire burned for 37 days, scorching more than 32,000 acres and destroying 1,600 homes. By season’s end, more than $1 Billion in... Read Full Post ›
Posted by Barbara Austin 08-28-13
Even if you have never heard the term Context Sensitive Design, there is a good chance that you have driven along a roadway that was created using this approach to transportation design and engineering. Since the term was coined at the FHWA’s Thinking Beyond the Pavement conference in 1998, Context Sensitive Design (CSD) has been... Read Full Post ›
From the moment you enter a community, there should be a discernible sense of arrival. It should just feel like home. As planners and landscape architects, the development of thoughtful entry sequences – or marketing trails – is an important component of our work. On its most basic level the marketing trail is a means... Read Full Post ›
Posted by Chris Crawford 06-26-13
An advertising executive turned real estate developer with a passion for exotic big game hunting, Bill Hinckley does not fit the typical client profile. He admittedly hates hiring consultants. His mantra is: “a surprise around every corner.” As the developer behind the top-ranked Crystal Falls community in Leander and party to the landmark sale of... Read Full Post ›
There’s no denying the positive buzz surrounding Texas right now. The state is experiencing substantial growth, and major cities like Austin, San Antonio, and Houston consistently rank highly on many lists for job creation, quality of life, business friendliness, and many other positive indicators. This attractive environment helped Texas weather the recent economic downturn much... Read Full Post ›
Crisp fall evenings at football games, late nights in the studio, endless debates over the meaning of life—it’s no exaggeration to say that most of us can, at times, be a little nostalgic about “the good old days” at the University. However, there is much more to our college experience than just pleasant memories and... Read Full Post ›
As planners and landscape architects, our clients come to us for big ideas that will set the course for development of their projects. Because our design is inextricably tied to the land itself and the surrounding context, each project is different from the last and each project presents new challenges to be addressed. So with... Read Full Post ›
